the description that follows is presented to enable one skilled in the art to make and use the present invention , and is provided in the context of a particular application and its requirements . various modifications to the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art , and the general principles discussed below may be applied to other embodiments and applications without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention . therefore , the invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments disclosed , but the invention is to be given the largest possible scope which is consistent with the principles and features described herein . it will be understood that in the event parts of different embodiments have similar functions or uses , they may have been given similar or identical reference numerals and descriptions . it will be understood that such duplication of reference numerals is intended solely for efficiency and ease of understanding the present invention , and are not to be construed as limiting in any way , or as implying that the various embodiments themselves are identical . fig1 is a representative schematic block diagram of a preferred embodiment of the apparatus 100 of the present invention for performing a varicose vein closure procedure of the present invention . as shown , the system 100 includes a laser console 102 , a motorized , fiber optic catheter “ pull - back ” machine 104 , a fiber optic catheter or other laser delivery device 106 to deliver laser energy into the patient &# 39 ; s vein , a sterile field 108 , and a controller 110 . fig2 a is a representative view of varicosed veins 200 in the leg 201 of a human patient to be treated according to the methods and apparatus of the present invention . fig2 b is a representative view of the gsv 202 to be treated according to the methods and apparatus of the present invention . fig2 c is a representative view showing the percutaneous introduction of an introducer or dilator 300 into the gsv for percutaneous access according to the methods and apparatus of the present invention . fig2 d is a representative view showing the use of the introducer or dilator 300 with the laser fiber 306 passing through the lumen 302 of the dilator 300 and into the gsv 202 according to the methods and apparatus of the present invention . fig2 e is a representative view of the use of an ultrasound device 400 according to the methods and apparatus of the present invention . fig3 is a is a representative view of a varicosed vein 200 , showing intact valves 600 and prolapsed valves 690 . the vein 200 has walls 704 and is surrounded by tissue 702 . prior to treatment with the laser 102 , as much blood as possible is preferably removed from the vessel 200 . in a preferred embodiment , blood is removed by a combination of one or more of the following : external compression , massage , cooling , inducing spasms to the leg , and suction of the vein ; the foregoing methods being described more fully in u . s . patent application ser . no . 11 / 562 , 944 , entitled “ preparation for endovenous laser ablation ”, attorney docket no . nsl - 503 , filed nov . 22 , 2006 . turning to fig2 a - e , a quartz or sapphire fiber optic 306 is inserted into the vein 200 via a 16 gauge needle or similar , or through a vein 200 which has been externalized through a 2 - 3 mm incision with a phlebectomy hook ( not shown ). the fiber 306 is preferably 275 to 365 um in diameter , but fibers from 50 um to 1 mm or more or less , could be used . the fiber catheter 300 is threaded through the length of the vein 200 . the position of the fiber 306 within the vein 200 is noted by observing the red aiming beam of the laser 102 as it is emitted from the tip 304 of the catheter 300 and is visible through the skin . in addition , a duplex ultrasound device 400 ( see fig2 e ) or similar mechanism may be used to visualize the fiber tip 308 as well as the cannulated blood vessel 200 to determine vein wall contraction and closure . in a preferred embodiment of the method of the present invention , the catheter 300 must either be removed prior to pull - back , or be secured to the fiber 306 so that both the fiber 306 and the cannula or catheter 300 are retracted simultaneously . the catheter 300 is preferably connected to a motorized pullback device 104 either inside or outside of the sterile field 108 of the patient . the procedure begins by turning the laser 102 on for a few seconds and then starting the pullback . the operational settings for the laser 102 and the speed of the pullback device 104 are determined by the criteria described below . optical absorption curves presented by baumgardner , anderson , and grove show that the primary absorbing chromophore in a vein for the 810 , 940 and 1 . 06 um laser wavelengths is hemoglobin . see fig4 . when a vein is drained of blood and these lasers 102 are used , a great majority of the laser energy is transmitted through the vessel wall and heats surrounding tissue 702 . the 1 . 2 to 1 . 8 um laser wavelengths , on the other hand , are ideally suited to penetrate the small amount of remaining blood in the vessel 200 , but also are much more strongly absorbed in the vessel wall 704 by collagen . most of the energy is concentrated in the wall 704 for heating and shrinkage and is not transmitted through to surrounding tissue 702 . this dramatically increases the safety of the procedure . in addition , these laser wavelength are considered more “ eye ” safe than the 800 to 1 . 06 um lasers , decreasing the risk of eye damage to the doctor and others in the operating arena . in particular , the nd : yag laser 102 or any other suitable , similar laser can be used . this laser 102 can operate at a wavelength of 1 . 32 um . other lasers 102 such as nd : yap , er : yap , er : ylf and others could be used to provide laser wavelengths in the 1 . 2 to 1 . 8 um region . these lasers 102 can be powered by optically pumping the laser crystal using a xenon or krypton flashlamp or laser diodes . they may be continuously pumped or pulsed using electro optical or acousto - optical shutters - or by pulsing the flashlamp itself . lasers 102 in this wavelength region also include diode lasers that emit 1 . 2 to 1 . 8 um wavelengths directly , or fiber lasers that use a length of doped fiber optic as the lasing medium . as noted above , fig4 shows curves for absorption coefficients of melanin , hemoglobin and water as a function of wavelength according to the preferred embodiments of the methods and apparatus of the present invention . it will be observed in fig4 that the region between about 550 nm to about 1060 nm shows high hemoglobin absorption and low water absorption , as is well known in the prior art technology . it will further be observed that the region between about 1200 nm to about 1800 nm shows low hemoglobin and higher water absorption , which is significant to the present methods . fig5 presents data comparing the coefficients of absorption of collagen and of human fatty tissue as a function of radiation wavelength . it is known that human fatty tissue has a different absorption spectra than collagen , and that there are wavelength windows in that spectra where it is possible to selectively target either fat or collagen with reduced impact on the other tissue . as can be seen in the figure , in the ranges of from about 1300 um to about 1600 um , and from about 1900 um to about 2200 um , the absorption rate of collagen is much greater than that of human fatty tissue . this characteristic is further illustrated in fig6 , which presents the ratio of the coefficient of absorption of human fatty tissue to that of collagen as a function of wavelength . as noted on the figure , the ranges of 1 . 3 - 1 . 8 nm and 1 . 9 - 2 . 2 nm represent “ therapeutic windows ” in which laser energy is highly absorbed in collagen relative to human fatty tissue . the devices and methods described herein take advantage of these properties by providing laser energy having wavelengths falling within these “ therapeutic window ” ranges . within these ranges , the laser energy delivered will damage the target endothelial cells within the vein wall and will do little or no damage to the tissue surrounding the vein , including very little heating of the tissue that would otherwise cause pain , swelling or purpura in the dermis . this effect is particularly pronounced when treating small vessels because they are in such close proximity to other parts of the dermis . it has been found that laser energy with wavelengths that have absorption depths of about 0 . 2 to about 2 mm are best for treating small ( e . g ., less than 2 mm diameter ) vessels . the laser wavelength range that corresponds to these absorption depths is from about 1 . 3 to about 1 . 85 um , and from about 2 . 1 to about 2 . 6 um . on the other hand , larger vessels are best treated using laser energy at wavelengths that provide absorption depths of about 1 to about 3 mm to more uniformly heat all of the endothelial tissue without the risk of hot spots and potential perforation of the vessel wall . the laser wavelengths that correspond to these longer absorption depths are from about 1 . 14 um to about 1 . 38 um . the 1 . 32 um nd : yag laser satisfies each of these ranges . fig7 is a schematic representation of a laser that utilizes a flashlamp to pump the laser crystal . the use of a flashlamp is method of laser pumping that is generally known to those skilled in the art . it was one of the first methods used to produce laser energy , and is still in wide use because of it low cost and ability to produce large amounts of pulsed energy . the method described herein is a standard way to produce pulsed energy from a solid state laser such as an nd : yag or other crystalline medium laser . this method has been taught for many years for other applications , but is adapted to produce the type of laser output used by the methods described herein . the prior art endovenous treatment applications utilize continuous output semiconductor lasers that do not utilize flashlamp pumping . semiconductor or diode lasers are activated by directly stimulating the medium with a low voltage direct current and , by design , cannot store and output giant energy pulses . the exemplary power supply described below is intended to illustrate a technique that is used to produce pulsed laser operation and to show that it is fundamentally different from continuous laser operation for the present methods . a pulsed laser flashlamp 810 is a tube of glass or quartz that is sealed off at each end and contains a rare gas such as xenon or krypton . electrical contacts through each end connect to an anode and a cathode inside the glass tube . when a high voltage is applied to the ends of the lamp it will discharge with a broad band white light . the lamp is placed in close proximity to the lazing crystal 812 so that the crystal absorbs the light energy . the crystal 812 stores this energy until a lazing threshold is reached when the energy is emitted through a process called stimulated emission . a set of aligned mirrors 814 around the crystal 812 allows selection of the wavelength and direction for this energy to propagate and to be coupled out of the crystal 812 . lasers that can be operated in giant pulse mode require lazing mediums that can store and then selectively release large amounts of energy . solid state crystal lasers such as nd : yag lasers are optimal for this purpose . semiconductor or diode lasers do not store significant amounts of energy and therefore can only be operated in continuous or very low energy per pulse modes . fig8 is a schematic representation of a power supply 820 that can be used to pulse the flashlamp 810 to produce large energy pulses used in the methods described herein . a pulse lamp driving circuit typically contains a high voltage power supply 822 , a main storage discharge capacitor 824 , an inductor 826 to match lamp impedance and to control the pulse length , a lamp 828 , and a triggering mechanism ( such as a trigger transformer 852 described below in relation to fig1 ) to initiate ionization in the gas in the lamp so that the main discharge current can flow through the lamp . when the lamp 828 is non - ionized , it has a very high impedance and thus initially all the power supply current flows into the capacitor 824 . if the voltage across the capacitor 824 or the trigger circuit reaches a value equal to the breakdown voltage of the lamp 828 , ionization of the lamp 828 gas starts to occur and its impedance begins to fall . if sufficient charge is available , the plasma of ionized gas in the lamp 828 completely fills the bore and the lamp radiates energy in the form of light . eventually all of the energy in the capacitor 824 is expended and the lamp 828 returns to a de - ionized state . this process can be repeated with a repetition rate that can be from a single isolated pulse to thousands of times every second . the energy discharges from the capacitor 824 through the flashlamp 828 with a pulse length that is determined by the values of the capacitor 824 and inductor 826 that has been selected for the pulse forming network . this pulse length can be shown to be : t = ⅓ ( lc ) ½ , where l is the value of the inductor 826 and c is the value of the capacitor 824 in the network . since the crystalline laser medium 812 will absorb white light and emit coherent monochromatic light in close agreement with the flashlamp pulse , proper selection of the flashlamp pulse length provides a method for controlling the giant pulse length of a solid state laser . it is controlled by the choice of the value of the main discharge capacitors 824 and inductors 826 . however , the laser operates most efficiently when the flashlamp pulse length closely matches the fluorescent lifetime of the lasing medium and when the pfn ( pulse forming network ) matches the impedance of the lamp 828 . for a typical nd : yag laser , this is about 200 μseconds . fig9 is a photo of an oscilloscope readout illustrating an exemplary flashlamp pulse generated by the pulse forming network shown in fig8 . the energy per pulse is determined by the energy stored in the main capacitor . this energy can be calculated to be : e = ½ c ( v ) 2 , where v is the voltage that the capacitor is charged to . the output lasing energy will be a percentage of the flashlamp pump energy within the cooling constraints of the rest of the laser . for nd : yag crystals usually about 3 % of the pump energy emits as coherent laser energy . for the present endovenous laser treatment methods , typical values for the components are : these values can produce pulse lengths from 3 to 800 μseconds , pump energies from 0 . 2 joules to 2000 joules per pulse , and laser output energies of 6 millijoules to 60 joules per pulse . these values have been shown to be effective in reducing the coagulum that develops at the tip of an endovenous laser fiber during treatment . fig1 illustrates an alternative electronic switching device referred to as an igbt ( isolated gate bipolar transistor ), which can be used to generate pulsed energies in a flashlamp of the same values as a capacitive , inductive pulse forming network . the igbt circuit includes a high voltage power supply 842 , a main storage discharge capacitor 844 , an electric switch 846 , a lamp 848 , a simmer supply 850 , and a trigger transformer 852 to initiate ionization in the gas in the lamp so that the main discharge current can flow through the lamp . the device shown in fig1 is usually operated at a fixed capacitor voltage and controls the energy discharge into the flashlamp by controlling the pulse length of the discharge . the igbt device can shut off the current at any time , as opposed to a conventional transistor which cannot be controlled once it is turned on . a trigger transformer 852 is used to strike a high voltage arc in the flashlamp 848 to initiate a plasma current in the lamp of about 100 mamps . this plasma is maintained by a current limiting power supply called a simmer supply 850 and allows the discharge of a high current flashlamp pulse controlled by the igbt 846 . for endovenous laser treatment methods , typical values for the capacitor 844 and voltage 842 to control flashlamp pulses are : these values can produce pulse lengths from 1 to 5000 μseconds , pump energies from 0 . 2 to 2000 joules per pulse , and laser output energies from 6 millijoules to 60 joules per pulse . fig1 a - c are photos of oscilloscope readouts illustrating exemplary flashlamp pulses produced by the igbt system of fig1 . for example , fig1 a illustrates a pulse length of about 110 μseconds , fig1 b illustrates a pulse length of about 250 μseconds , and fig1 c illustrates a pulse length of about 550 μseconds . those skilled in the art will recognize that there are other available methods to pulse lasers , but that the two methods described herein utilizing flashlamp pulse sources represent efficient and effective methods for producing high energy short pulses that are sufficient to vaporize blood coagulum formed at the tip of a fiber optic catheter in a blood vessel . other laser pulse methods include the use of optical switches such as pockels cells or saturable dyes that bleach when intracavity energy densities exceed a calculated minimum . these methods produce very short pulses that can easily damage fiber optic delivery devices and are not preferred . it is also possible to mechanically shutter a continuous laser , but this would result in a very large and inefficient laser in which over 90 % of the laser output would be wasted . fig1 is a schematic representation of the controls needed to modify the pulse length and energy of a flashlamp pulsed laser . the energy and repetition rate of the pulsing is selected on a control panel attached to a central processing unit ( cpu ) 860 . the cpu 860 sends control signals 862 a - b to the high voltage power supply 864 and the pulse forming network 866 or electronic switch to select pulse energy and width . after each pulse , feedback signals 868 a - c from the high voltage power supply 864 , the pulse forming network 866 , and the laser output 870 are routed back to the cpu 860 and compared for the correct energy and pulse . energy and pulsing are thereby controlled on a real time basis . in a first experiment , coagulation formation on the fiber tip of an nd : yag pulsed laser having a wavelength of 1320 nm was compared to coagulation formation on the fiber tip of a diode laser having a wavelength of 980 nm in continuous mode . method overview : approximately 50 cc of porcine blood was stabilized with edta and placed in a beaker at room temperature . a standard 600 μm fiber was used on both laser systems . the power levels for both laser systems were measured using a molectron powermax 600 power meter . the porcine blood was stirred between each interval . the fiber was cleaned using 3 % hydrogen peroxide and wiped off with a kim wipe ® between each firing . the fiber was checked using after each test to confirm a circular aiming beam with no tails , and checked by the power meter between each firing . clot sizes were measured visually using a metric ruler and recorded in a lab notebook and digital photographs were taken . brief results : the 980 nm diode laser operated in continuous mode created a large clot of coagulum on the fiber tip . the clot grew larger in size and hardened over the passage of time . the 1320 nm nd : yag laser operated in pulse mode did not create any significant coagulum clot until nearly 60 seconds of use , at which time a small clot was formed near the fiber tip . 980 diode laser 1032 nd : yag laser molectron average power = 5 . 72 watts , average power = 5 . 81 ( w ) continuous mode watts , @ 20 hz / 100 μsec pulse width peak power = 5 . 72 watts peak power = 2900 watts power density = 2021 w / cm 2 power density = 1 , 000 , 000 w / cm 2 time ( seconds ) 5 1 mm × 2 mm clot , organized no coagulum 10 3 mm × 3 mm clot , organized no coagulum 15 3 mm × 4 mm clot , organized no coagulum 20 4 mm × 5 mm clot , organized no coagulum 25 not done not done 30 3 mm × 6 mm clot , organized no coagulum 35 not done no coagulum 40 not done no coagulum 45 10 mm × 5 - 6 mm clot , possible ½ mm coating organized on tip 50 not done possible ½ mm coating on tip 60 8 mm × 6 mm , organized 1 mm × 2 mm clot , soft hard clot conclusions : the results demonstrated a marked difference in clot formation between the 1320 nd : yag pulsed laser and the 980 diode laser in continuous mode . clot formation with the 980 diode occurs within the first 5 seconds of use . the 1320 nd : yag pulsed laser does not produce a definable clot until 60 seconds of continuous firing . other experiments , described below , have shown that the repetition rate of 20 hz will “ self - clean ” the tip by pulsing the clot off the fiber tip . experiment # 2 : coagulum as a function of laser power and power density in a second experiment , coagulation formation on a fiber tip was measured as a function of laser peak power and power density for an nd : yag laser having a wavelength of 1320 μm . method overview : approximately 10 cc of porcine blood was stabilized with edta and placed in a graduated cylinder at room temperature . a standard 600 μm fiber and a 365 μm fiber were each used to deliver energy to the blood medium . clot sizes were measured using a metric ruler . first test : the first test was to compare coagulation accumulations between the 600 μm fiber and the 365 μm fiber . system settings time fiber power density aiming beam 1320 nm 7 w / 50 hz 140 mj / pulse @ width = 5 - 40 sec 600 μm 330 , 000 w / cm 2 none thru clot 150 μsec 1320 nm 7 w / 50 hz 140 mj / pulse @ width = 5 - 40 sec 365 μm 1 , 000 , 000 w / cm 2 none thru clot 150 μsec clot formation was compared at 5 - second intervals for both fibers . coagulum was cleaned off with a kim wipe ® between each firing . the aiming beam was observed after each run . if the aiming beam was found not to be circular , the fiber was replaced . time ( seconds ) 365 μm 600 μm 5 no coagulum no coagulum 10 no coagulum no coagulum 15 no coagulum no coagulum 20 no coagulum ˜ 2 - 3 mm , soft clot 25 no coagulum ˜ 2 - 3 mm , soft clot 30 ˜ 1 - 2 mm , very soft clot ˜ 3 - 4 mm , soft 35 ˜ 2 - 3 mm , somewhat harder ˜ 4 - 5 mm clot 40 ˜ 3 - 4 mm clot , organized ˜ 5 - 6 mm clot both fibers provided circular aiming beams having no tails after each test . the results suggest that clot formation is less with higher power density . second test : compare coagulum formation with energy density using 600 μm fiber . system settings time energy density coagulum aiming beam 1320 nm 7 w / 50 hz 140 mj / pulse @ width = 90 sec 50 j / cm2 8 - 10 mm , none thru clot 150 μsec eccentric soft clot 1320 nm 7 w / 50 hz 350 mj / pulse @ width = 90 sec 124 j / cm2 5 - 6 mm , visible beam 440 μsec soft clot thru clot the results suggest higher energy per pulse produces less coagulum and a fiber tip that is kept “ cleaner ” as demonstrated by the aiming beam being visible after the test . third test : determine the capability of a high energy density laser operation to prevent clot formation over the laser emitting end of the fiber . method overview : approximately 40 cc of porcine blood ( edta stabilized ) was placed in a 100 cc beaker . a separate beaker was used for each system tested . separate fibers were used for each system tested . after each firing , fibers were cleaned by immersing in a 3 % hydrogen peroxide solution and wiping dry with a kim wipe ®, after which the aiming beam was checked for circularity and the power was checked with the molectron powermax 600 power meter . power variations from firing to firing were kept to between ± 3 %. in addition , prior to firing , each beaker of porcine blood was stirred to evenly distribute the serum and red blood cells . system settings energy density time fiber type coagulum aiming beam 1320 nm 5 . 31 watts 37 joules / cm 2 20 sec 600 μm 106 mj / pulse run # 1 3 mm clot , none organized , semi soft run # 2 4 mm clot , none organized , semi soft run # 3 5 mm clot , none organized , semi soft 1320 nm 5 . 40 watts 95 joules / cm 2 20 sec 600 μm 270 mj / pulse run # 1 1 / 2 mm clot , yes , good organized run # 2 2 mm clot , round beam organized run # 3 1 mm clot , good , organized slightly fuzzy results : more energy per pulse aids in reducing clot volume and maintaining energy output from the fiber tip as demonstrated by the aiming beam being observed in the higher energy density runs . fourth test : a fourth test was conducted to determine whether changing to a higher energy density will disrupt or cause removal of a clot that has formed on a fiber tip . method overview : a clot was formed on a 600 m fiber using a 1320 nm laser @ 6 watts / 50 hz ( measured energy 5 . 56 watts ). the clot size was measured and its structure recorded . the fiber was then re - inserted into the porcine blood test beaker . the laser was adjusted to higher energy densities as in the table below . time - additive result : energy density : 169 joules / cm 2 10 sec clot increased in size , ˜ 5 × 10 mm , no aiming beam visible clot description # 1 : ˜ 4 × 8 mm , 15 sec clot perforated , organized , no aiming aiming beam is visible beam 15 sec no additional clot formation , aiming beam visible /// energy density : 98 joules / cm 2 10 sec no change in size , no aiming beam visible clot description # 2 : ˜ 5 × 10 mm , 15 sec hole produced in clot distal organized , no aiming end , aiming beam now present beam 15 sec no additional increase in size , aiming beam present conclusions : energy densities of 98 and 169 joules / cm2 at the fiber tip will maintain an energy pathway from the fiber tip by ablating off accumulated blood coagulum . these results are illustrated in fig1 a - c . turning first to fig1 a , an optical fiber 306 is shown having a clean fiber tip 308 . the aiming beam 880 is unobstructed and is easily visible . next , in fig1 b , a clot 882 is formed on the fiber tip 308 . the clot 882 effectively blocks the aiming beam 880 , which is no longer visible . finally , in fig1 c , laser energy having sufficient energy density to ablate off the accumulated coagulum is passed through the fiber tip 308 . the laser energy effectively self - cleans the fiber optic tip 308 , making the aiming beam 880 visible again . unless defined otherwise , all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs . although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described can be used in the practice or testing of the present invention , the preferred methods and materials are now described . all publications and patent documents referenced in the present invention are incorporated herein by reference . while the principles of the invention have been made clear in illustrative embodiments , there will be immediately obvious to those skilled in the art many modifications of structure , arrangement , proportions , the elements , materials , and components used in the practice of the invention , and otherwise , which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from those principles . the appended claims are intended to cover and embrace any and all such modifications , with the limits only of the true purview , spirit and scope of the invention .
this invention is an improved method and device for treating varicose veins 200 or the greater saphenous vein 202 . the method comprises the use of infrared laser radiation in the region of 1 . 2 to 2 . 2 um in a manner from inside the vessel 200 or 202 such that the endothelial cells of the vessel wall 704 are damaged and collagen fibers in the vessel wall 704 are heated to the point where they permanently contract , the vessel 200 or 202 is occluded and ultimately resorbed . the device includes a laser 102 delivering laser energy via a fiber optic catheter 300 . a motorized pull back device 104 may be used . the laser is preferably operated under laser energy delivery conditions that substantially prevent the formation of coagulum on the energy emitting tip of the fiber .