We compare Los Alamos numerical simulations with Oregon Medical Laser Center laser deposition experiments conducted with gelatin thrombus surrogates specifically chosen for relevance to clinical laser thrombolysis. Initial idealized calculations suggest that a surprisingly large fraction of the absorbed laser energy appears as acoustic radiation. We build on these results here by investigating geometrical affects, material property variations, and sources of dissipation including viscosity and plastic flow, as well as acoustic radiation, in an effort to explain flow effects observed in the experiments. In particular, strong jetting is observed in the simulations when the gelatin is given a kinematic viscosity in excess of approximately 1.0 cm²/s. Jetting is clearly evident in the experiments.

Date Published: 22 May 1997
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 2970, Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems VII, (22 May 1997); doi: 10.1117/12.275023

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2970:
Lasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems VII
R. Rox Anderson M.D.; Harvey Lui M.D.; Michail M. Pankratov; Kenneth Eugene Bartels D.V.M.; Gerhard J. Mueller; Graham M. Watson M.D.; Reza S. Malek M.D.; Lawrence S. Bass M.D.; Lloyd P. Tate V.D.M.; Hans-Dieter Reidenbach; Kenneth Eugene Bartels D.V.M.; R. Rox Anderson M.D.; Lawrence S. Bass M.D.; Aaron P. Perlmutter M.D.; Kenton W. Gregory M.D.; David M. Harris; David M. Harris; Harvey Lui M.D.; Reza S. Malek M.D.; Gerhard J. Mueller; Michail M. Pankratov; Aaron P. Perlmutter M.D.; Hans-Dieter Reidenbach; Lloyd P. Tate V.D.M.; Graham M. Watson M.D., Editor(s)