Highly efficient nonthermal ablation of bone under bulk water with a frequency-doubled Nd:YVO4 picosecond laser

C. Tulea; J. Caron; H. Wahab; N. Gehlich; M. Hoefer; D. Esser; B. Jungbluth; A. Lenenbach; R. Noll

doi:10.1117/12.2004392

8 March 2013 Highly efficient nonthermal ablation of bone under bulk water with a frequency-doubled Nd:YVO₄ picosecond laser

C. Tulea, J. Caron, H. Wahab, N. Gehlich, M. Hoefer, D. Esser, B. Jungbluth, A. Lenenbach, R. Noll

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 8565, Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics IX; 85656E (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2004392
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Several laser systems in the infrared wavelength range, such as Nd:YAG, Er:YAG or CO₂ lasers are used for efficient ablation of bone tissue. Here the application of short pulses in coaction with a thin water film results in reduced thermal side effects. Nonetheless up to now there is no laser-process for bone cutting in a clinical environment due to lack of ablation efficiency. Investigations of laser ablation rates of bone tissue using a rinsing system and concerning bleedings have not been reported yet. In our study we investigated the ablation rates of bovine cortical bone tissue, placed 1.5 cm deep in water under laminar flow conditions, using a short pulsed (25 ps), frequency doubled (532 nm) Nd:YVO₄ laser with pulse energies of 1 mJ at 20 kHz repetition rate. The enhancement of the ablation rate due to debris removal by an additional water flow from a well-directed blast pipe as well as the negative effect of the admixture of bovine serum albumin to the water were examined. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) was used to measure the ablated volume. An experimental study of the depth dependence of the ablation rate confirms a simplified theoretical prediction regarding Beer-Lambert law, Fresnel reflection and a Gaussian beam profile. Conducting precise incisions with widths less than 1.5 mm the maximum ablation rate was found to be 0.2 mm³/s. At depths lower than 100 μm, while the maximum depth was 3.5 mm.

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C. Tulea, J. Caron, H. Wahab, N. Gehlich, M. Hoefer, D. Esser, B. Jungbluth, A. Lenenbach, and R. Noll "Highly efficient nonthermal ablation of bone under bulk water with a frequency-doubled Nd:YVO₄ picosecond laser", Proc. SPIE 8565, Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics IX, 85656E (8 March 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2004392

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