Silver halide optical fibers for medical applications

Optical fibers fabricated from silver halide crystals (AgClxBr1-x) are transparent in the far infrared (3-15 ). They can transmit CO2laser radiation with power densities greater than3 × 10⁴W/cm2in the CW mode or short pulses with power densities on the order of5 × 10⁶W/cm2. A laser catheter system based on a silver halide fiber and a pulsed CO2laser was used to perform laser angioplasty and atrial septostomy in vivo. A similar system was used to coagulate bleeding gastric ulcers in vivo. Silver halide fibers were also used in diagnostic procedures, such as noncontact temperature measurements during laser surgery and hyperthermia cancer treatment.