Preliminary evaluation of a pulsed 2.15-μm laser system for fiberoptic endoscopic surgery
✍ Scribed by Michael R. Treat; Stephen L. Trokel; R. David Reynolds; Vincent J. DeFilippi; James Andrew; Jenn Ying Liu; Martin G. Cohen
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1988
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 610 KB
- Volume
- 8
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0196-8092
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
There is a need for lasers that are compatible with fiberoptic endoscopes and that provide greater cutting precision than currently can be produced by the widely used Nd:YAG (1.06 pm) laser. Recently available lasers that operate in the 2-pm region fill this need. This laser light energy can be transmitted by low OHsilica fibers and has much less tissue penetration than radiation at 1.06 pm. We have been evaluating a prototype solid state laser system that produces pulses of 2.15 pm light that is delivered by a silica based fiberoptic delivery system with negligible transmission losses. This system is based on a thuliumholmium-chromium doped YAG (Tm-Ho-Cr: YAG) rod that lases at 2.15 pm. The laser does not require cryogenic cooling, toxic gases, or custom utilities and should be practical in a clinical environment. In vivo animal testing of this laser confirms that it provides greater ablating precision than does the Nd:YAG laser at 1.06 pm.