Mechanisms of tissue damage are investigated for skin and cornea exposures from 1540 nm ('eye safe') laser single pulses of 0.8 milli-seconds. New skin model data point out the advantages of using the Yucatan mini-pig versus the Yorkshire pig for in-vivo skin laser exposures. Major advantages found include similarities in thickness and melanin content when compared with human skin. Histology from Yucatan mini-pig skin exposures and the calculation of an initial ED₅₀ threshold indicate that the main photon tissue interaction may not be solely due to water absorption. In-vitro corneal equivalents compared well with in-vivo rabbit cornea exposure under similar laser conditions. In-vivo and in-vitro histology show that initial energy deposition leading to damage occurs intrastromally, while epithelial cells show no direct injury due to laser light absorption.

Date Published: 13 June 2000
PDF: 8 pages
Proc. SPIE 3914, Laser-Tissue Interaction XI: Photochemical, Photothermal, and Photomechanical, (13 June 2000); doi: 10.1117/12.388049

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 3914:
Laser-Tissue Interaction XI: Photochemical, Photothermal, and Photomechanical
Jeffrey O. Hollinger D.D.S.; Donald Dean Duncan; Jeffrey O. Hollinger D.D.S.; Donald Dean Duncan; Steven L. Jacques, Editor(s)