Tissue ablation through water with erbium: YAG lasers

Author

Loertscher, H. ; Shi, W.Q. ; Grundfest, W.S.

Author_Institution

Laser Res. Center, Cedars-Sinai Med. Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Volume

39

Issue

1

fYear

1992

Firstpage

86

Lastpage

88

Abstract

The authors report the dynamics of vapor cavities generated by 200 mu s long Er:YAG laser pulses under water and in gelatin. Acoustic transients were detected at the beginning of the laser pulse and when the cavity collapsed. Cavity expansion and collapse, and the associated acoustic transients are possible ablation mechanisms with the Er:YAG laser. Shortening of the pulse duration is suggested to minimize long range underwater tissue damages.

Keywords

cavitation; laser applications in medicine; solid lasers; surgery; 200 mus; Er:YAG laser pulses; Er:YAl5O12; ablation mechanisms; acoustic transients; cavity collapse; cavity expansion; gelatin; laser surgery; long range underwater tissue damages; pulse duration shortening; vapor cavity dynamics; water; Acoustic pulses; Erbium; Fiber lasers; Laser ablation; Optical fibers; Optical pulse generation; Optical pulses; Pulsed laser deposition; Switches; Underwater acoustics; Acoustics; Evaluation Studies as Topic; Gelatin; Laser Therapy; Photography; Water;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Biomedical Engineering, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9294

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/10.108131

Filename

108131