Optical fiber having an expanded light pattern

1 . An illumination system, comprising:

a light source having an array of laser diodes configured to emit a combined light beam;

a despeckling mechanism to reduce speckling in the light beam;

an optical fiber receiving and transmitting the light beam, the optical fiber including a proximal portion configured to receive the light beam from the light source, the proximal portion having a first numerical aperture, the optical fiber including a distal portion configured to emit the light beam to illuminate a surgical field, the distal portion having a second numerical aperture, and the optical fiber including a central portion extending between the proximal portion and the distal portion, the central portion having a third numerical aperture, wherein the optical fiber is configured to receive the light beam at the proximal portion at the first numerical aperture and output the light beam from the distal portion at the second numerical aperture, and

a micro chandelier, the micro chandelier including a needle and a cannula hub, the cannula hub being positioned at a back side of the micro chandelier, the needle being positioned opposite the cannula hub,

wherein the optical fiber is attached inside and traverses through the micro chandelier, the optical fiber extending through the cannula hub and the needle, the optical fiber being movably attached to the cannula hub such that a tip of the distal portion of the optical fiber moves in and out of the needle,

wherein the optical fiber includes a fiber stop, the fiber stop being positioned inside the micro chandelier and between the cannula hub and the needle of the micro chandelier, and the fiber stop being configured to move between the cannula hub and the needle, and

wherein the cannula hub has a first plug facing the needle and the needle has a second plug facing the cannula hub, the fiber stop being configured to fit into the first plug thereby fixing the optical fiber on the micro chandelier with the tip of the optical fiber being recessed inside the needle, and the fiber stop being further configured to fit into the second plug thereby fixing the optical fiber on the micro chandelier with the tip of the optical fiber being extended out of the needle.

2 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the second numerical aperture is greater than the first numerical aperture.

3 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the proximal portion of the optical fiber has a numerical aperture of about 0.5 or less.

4 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the distal portion of the optical fiber has a numerical aperture of about 0.6 or greater.

5 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the central portion of the optical fiber has a numerical aperture of about 0.5 or less.

6 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the light source emits a light beam having a numerical aperture of about 0.5 or less.

7 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the proximal portion further comprises a first tapered section with a first proximal end and a first terminal end.

8 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the distal portion further comprises a second tapered section with a second proximal end and a second terminal end.

9 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the central portion includes a core diameter having a constant diameter over length of the central portion.

10 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the array of laser diodes includes a red laser diode, a green laser diode, and a blue laser diode.

11 . The illumination system of claim 10 , wherein the red laser diode operates in a spectral range having a wavelength of between 650 nm to 670 nm, the green laser diode operates in a spectral range having a wavelength of between 510 nm to 530 nm, and the blue laser diode operates in a spectral range having a wavelength of between 440 nm to 460 nm.

12 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the combined light beam emitted from the array of laser diodes is modulated to produce a predetermined spectral range.

13 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the light source includes at least one control element configured to be adjusted to control the spectral range of the combined light beam.

14 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the light source includes control elements associated with each of the laser diodes to independently control output from each of the laser diodes to control the spectral output of the combined light beam.

15 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the despeckling mechanism is a vibratory despeckling mechanism configured to physically vibrate at least one of the optical fiber and the array of laser diodes.

16 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein a source optical fiber extends between the laser diodes and the optical fiber to transmit the combined light beam to the optical fiber, the despeckling mechanism operably coupled to the source optical fiber to reduce speckling in the light beam transmitted through the source optical fiber.

17 . The illumination system of claim 16 , wherein the despeckling mechanism is a vibratory despeckling mechanism configured to vibrate the source optical fiber.

18 . The illumination system of claim 1 , wherein the despeckling mechanism includes lenses arranged in the optical path of the light beam to disrupt the spatial coherence of the emitted light beam.