Cavitation effect of holmium laser pulse applied to ablation of hard tissue underwater

J Biomed Opt. 2010 Jul-Aug;15(4):048002. doi: 10.1117/1.3470092.

Abstract

To overcome the inconsecutive drawback of shadow and schlieren photography, the complete dynamics of cavitation bubble oscillation or ablation products induced by a single holmium laser pulse [2.12 microm, 300 micros (FWHM)] transmitted in different core diameter (200, 400, and 600 microm) fibers is recorded by means of high-speed photography. Consecutive images from high-speed cameras can stand for the true and complete process of laser-water or laser-tissue interaction. Both laser pulse energy and fiber diameter determine cavitation bubble size, which further determines acoustic transient amplitudes. Based on the pictures taken by high-speed camera and scanned by an optical coherent microscopy (OCM) system, it is easily seen that the liquid layer at the distal end of the fiber plays an important role during the process of laser-tissue interaction, which can increase ablation efficiency, decrease heat side effects, and reduce cost.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bone and Bones / pathology*
  • Bone and Bones / surgery*
  • Humans
  • Immersion*
  • Laser Therapy / instrumentation*
  • Laser Therapy / methods*
  • Lasers, Solid-State*