Beam profile of the flashlamp pumped pulsed dye laser: Support for overlap of exposure spots

✍ Scribed by Scott M. Dinehart; Stephen Flock; Milton Waner

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1994
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 355 KB
• Volume: 15
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0196-8092
• DOI: 10.1002/lsm.1900150307

✦ Synopsis

The degree to which individual practitioners overlap exposure spots of the flashlamp pumped pulsed dye laser when treating large vascular lesions appears to be a matter of personal preference. There are few data to support one approach over another. We have measured the beam profile of this laser at two different energy fluences using a photodiode and a digitizing storage oscilloscope. Results show that for each energy fluence, the beam intensity decreases from the center to the outside rim of the beam. A plot of beam intensity versus the radius of the treatment field approaches a truncated normal distribution with a full width at half-maximum of 4.7-4.8 mm. These results help explain why clinical overlap of exposure spots can be safely undertaken and provide a rationale for recommendations concerning the degree of overlap needed to expedite treatment while still minimizing adverse reactions.