Light delivery schemes for uterine photodynamic therapy

The use of photodynamic therapy in the removal of the endometrial layer of the uterus provides the possibility of a rapid and effective treatment of menorrhagia avoiding the difficulties and complications of conventional methods. A treatment is proposed in which topical application of 5-aminolaevulinic acid to the inner surface of the uterus is followed by illumination at 630 nm. The surface layer would in this way be rendered necrotic to slough off over subsequent days. The removal of the entire endometrium must be achieved in order to prevent the return of the original condition, which demands that a therapeutic dose of both light and photosensitizer must be achieved throughout the depth of the tissue. This work presents a method of light delivery suitable for intra-uterine PDT along with in vitro optical phantom and ex vivo tissue measurements that aid in the characterization of the light field prior to treatment. These measurements allow the prediction of a treatment time suitable for the delivery of an effective light dose.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.