ULTRAFAST LASER SURGERY

The Center for Ultrafast Optical Science of the University of Michigan
announces the use of femtosecond laser pulses on surgery, in
particular for ophthalmology.
Ultrashort pulsed lasers allow for non-thermal laser-tissue
interaction.
Cuts can be made with little collateral damage. Users of surgical
lasers will recall that incisions made with thermal lasers often do
not bleed because the tissue is locally coagulated or cauterized.
Skin or other vascular tissues will bleed if cut with an ultrashort
pulsed laser. For certain applications, the type of cut produced by
ultrashort lasers is useful. This laser-tissue interaction is known
as photodisruption. The high intensity of the beam transforms
ordinary matter into a micro-plasma extremely rapidly. The energy in
the plasma is reabsorbed by surrounding tissue, which may cause
undesired collateral damage. However, if the parameters are chosen
correctly, a very clean cut can be made. The usual goal is to exploit
the ability of femtosecond pulses to produce photodisruption with
very small pulse energies, and therefore, very small
collateral tissue damage.

More information: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/USL/Medical/

From:
IMAAC/UNIDO VIRTUAL LASER MATERIALS PROCESSING FORUM
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News
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Number 11