Laser photoacoustic analysis of trace gases emitted during electro-knife surgery on human tissue

摘要

We present a fully automated mobile laser spectrometer with photoacoustic (PA) detection for trace gas analysis. A novel PA cell design permits extracavity measurements with detection limits in the sub-ppb concentration range. The setup also allows measurements with low-power sources such as quantum cascade lasers (QCL). The multicomponent capability as an important feature of the spectrometer is realized by the implementation of two sealed-off CO_2 lasers with ~(12)CO_2 and ~(13)CO_2 fillings covering the spectral range between 868 cm~(-1) and 1088 cm~(-1) with 132 laser lines. The performance is demonstrated with measurements on air samples with a priori unknown composition. In particular we report on the analysis of samples taken during surgery on human breast tissue with a high-frequency (HF) electro-knife in a hospital. Besides advantages of less bleeding and lower risk of infection, the drawback of this technique is the generated fume, which in general contains dozens of species at low concentrations, some of them presumably harmful to the patient and the medical team. Our analysis of an unfiltered fume sample revealed a total of 15 species. Most of their concentrations were below the allowed workplace concentrations (if at all available). 2-Furan-carboxaldehyde ), however, exceeded this value of 2 ppm considerably.