Ablation of calcified biological tissue using pulsed hydrogen fluoride laser radiation

Author

Izatt, Joseph A. ; Sankey, Norris D. ; Partovi, Firooz ; Fitzmaurice, Maryanne ; Rava, Richard P. ; Itzkan, Irving ; Feld, Michael S.

Author_Institution

G.R. Harrison Spectrosc. Lab., Cambridge, MA, USA

Volume

26

Issue

12

fYear

1990

fDate

12/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2261

Lastpage

2270

Abstract

Calcified tissue (primarily beef shank bone) was ablated in air with an HF laser beam focused on a spot diameter of 150 μm and at several wavelengths in the 2.7-3.0-μm range. Pulse irradiances ranged from 0.2 to 1.0 MW/mm², pulse durations from 350 to 1000 ns, and the pulse repetition rate was 0.5 Hz. Under histologic examination, tissue craters appeared cleanly cut with smooth walls and minimal charring. Fluence thresholds for tissue removal were ~10 mJ/mm², independent of the ablation wavelength. Ablation was observed to occur both with and without the presence of a plasma. The amount of energy required to ablate tissue ranged from 2 to 3 J/mm³, similar to the value observed in noncalcified tissue. Debris ejected from the crater during ablation contained particles of an average diameter of ~500 nm, expelled from the crater at ~200 m/s

Keywords

bone; laser applications in medicine; surgery; 2.7 to 3.0 micron; 350 to 1000 ms; HF laser beam; ablation wavelength; beef shank bone; calcified biological tissue; charring; debris; energy; histologic examination; plasma; pulse durations; pulse repetition rate; pulsed HF laser radiation; smooth walls; spot diameter; tissue craters; tissue removal; Absorption; Biological tissues; Bones; Free electron lasers; Hafnium; Hydrogen; Laser ablation; Laser beam cutting; Laser beams; Optical pulses;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9197

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/3.64362

Filename

64362