Corneal and Skin Laser Exposures from 1540 nm Laser Pulses

摘要

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 ED_(50) thresold 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.