| 摘要 |
An apparatus for performing ablation upon a patient using laser energy. The apparatus advantageously provides for a laser beam to directly strike the tissue of a patient by having the laser beam pass out an opening in an outer hood. To prevent the apparatus from becoming fouled by burnt red blood cells or other materials, flushing solution is fed under pressure into the interior of the outer hood so as to flow out through the opening. The outer hood may include a plurality of openings and the apparatus may emit more than one laser beam, each laser beam going through a corresponding opening and having the flushing solution provided through the same opening such that the flushing is advantageously provided directly at the location where it is needed. Additionally, an auxiliary opening may be provided without any corresponding laser beam, the auxiliary opening allowing flushing solution to exit therfrom so as to stabilize the positioning of the apparatus within the vessel or other part of the patient. The apparatus includes an optical fiber having a prism which is integral with the optical fiber and used to direct the laser energy in the desired direction. A method of making the apparatus provides for the formation of the prism from the optical fiber.
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