Abstract

A series of experiments are conducted in vivo using Yucatan mini-pigs (Sus scrofa domestica) to determine thermal damage thresholds to the skin from 1940-nm continuous-wave thulium fiber laser irradiation. Experiments employ exposure durations from 10 ms to 10 s and beam diameters of approximately 4.8 to 18 mm. Thermal imagery data provide a time-dependent surface temperature response from the laser. A damage endpoint of minimally visible effect is employed to determine threshold for damage at 1 and 24 h postexposure. Predicted thermal response and damage thresholds are compared with a numerical model of optical-thermal interaction. Results are compared with current exposure limits for laser safety. It is concluded that exposure limits should be based on data representative of large-beam exposures, where effects of radial diffusion are minimized for longer-duration damage thresholds

Document Type

Article

Source Publication

Journal of Biomedical Optics

Version

Published Version

Publication Date

2010

Volume

15

Issue

6

First Page

065008-1

Last Page

065008-10

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Rights

Notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code).

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