News — Laser Lithotripsy

Stephen’s Law of Advancing Technology: Without a leader in innovation, product designs converge. Corollary to Stephen’s Law: Dollar-driven designs approach minimum acceptable performance. A tale of two fibers – it’s not the best quality; it’s not the worst quality (upper left -- connector with huge glue ring, steel tube, glass ferrule and the fiber in the very center; upper right -- close-up of fiber input; lower left -- close-up of working tip; lower right -- comet on output of working tip)     While the above is not proof of “Stephen's Law”, it sure supports it. I’m Stephen. The photo series...

Tip failure occurs more rapidly where the tip begins with flaws, particularly where the optical output of the fiber is distorted. Most instructions for reproducing fiber tips are crude and non-scientific; “stripping and cleaving” instructions found on the internet, within other fiber manufacturers’ websites and IFUs typically yield highly variable and suboptimum results.   The following guide represents best practices in producing fiber working tips and is based upon the science of Fracture Mechanics. It is provided as a supplement to the full ProFlex™ LLF IFU and is intended for use by non-surgical personnel who are routinely charged with reproducing working tips on...

I find myself addressing this question with customers on an almost weekly basis, so I thought I would blog about it since many of you likely have the same questions: Who the heck needs a 200 μm core fiber? And if they’re so great, why don’t other companies make one? OK, I admit it; I added the second half of the question to sing the praises of InnovaQuartz versus the competition one more time…. As to why a 200 μm core fiber has utility, the answer is simple enough: The Answer? FLEXIBILITY   True 200 μm fibers are more flexible...

InnovaQuartz developed the first quartz ferrule reinforced surgical fiber termination 20-years ago; we called it the Black Hole™ because it could capture and absorb even highly errant laser focus energy without damaging the laser or the connector. The holmium laser fiber product line came to be known as SureFlex™ for its unprecedented high tolerance to tight bending under power. InnovaQuartz was acquired by Laserscope in 2006 and then became part of American Medical Systems a month later when Laserscope was acquired. In 2012, the scientist who had designed and perfected SureFlex and AccuFlex™ (and founder of InnovaQuartz, Stephen Griffin) had...

The fact that fiber optic technology for surgical lasers has steadily improved for two decades is largely due to InnovaQuartz' (IQ) research into fiber failure modes and strategies to overcome those weaknesses. Operating primarily in the background by providing unique solutions for established surgical laser companies, IQ has pushed back boundaries for the science of laser medicine in myriad fields, but none more authoritatively than Urological Surgery. Our patented products and proprietary technologies have blazed the path for others to follow -- We introduced the BlackHole™ High Power Connector in the 1990s and enabled GreenLight™ laser power to  rise almost 5-fold  starting in the late 1990s subsequently...