Lasers: The healing tool of the future: Fulfillment of their far-reaching potential depends on the work of physicians and engineers to understand laser-tissue interactions and develop new technologies

Various features of the laser that make it suitable for medical applications are discussed. These include its high-intensity output, its high collimation, and its monochromatic output. The use of lasers in selective photothermolysis is discussed, and the way that selective absorption can be achieved using exogenous chromophores is explained. The advances in ablation that the laser has made possible are described, and the use of the excimer laser in photochemistry for light therapy is discussed.