Tissue welding using near-infrared forsterite and cunyite tunable lasers

Two new near-infrared (NIR) tunable lasers were used to investigate weld repair strength. The tensile strengths of the shell membrane of hen eggs and the Wistar rat skin welding model were measured for the varying laser wavelengths: 1220, 1240, 1270, 1300 nm (from the forsterite laser) and 1360, 1430 nm (from the cunyite laser). The tensile strength was measured with a digital force gauge. The highest tensile strength was achieved at 1430 nm in the shell membrane of 0.81/spl plusmn/0.11 N and in the skin welding model of 0.64/spl plusmn/0.16 N. The weld strength follows the absorption spectrum of water.