Thermodynamic considerations in laser irradiation and ablation of tissue

Thermodynamic processes involved in the response of biological tissue to laser irradiation are briefly described. Results are presented on the effect of variation of optical properties on the ablation depth and temperature profile. The results were obtained in three steps. A discrete ordinate method was used to calculate the light distribution and the rate of heat generation by the solution of a transport equation. A finite-element method was used to solve the heat conduction equation. An immobilized finite-element method was then used to solve the heat conduction equation simultaneously with an ablation interface energy balance