Pulsed lasers, operating from UV to IR,at TRINITI for possible medical applications.

A.V. Rodin, V.M. Borisov, V.N. Kuz’min, V.G. Naumov.

State Research Center of Russian Federation Troitsk Institute for Innovation and Fusion Research, SRC RF TRINITI 142190, Troitsk, Moscow Region, Russia,

FAX (095) 334-57-76, e-mail:

Topic: Laser Istrumentation for biomedical and technology (poster session).

Abstract.

Wide range of lasers and laser systems has been developed at TRINITI over the years. Among them are carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, excimer and solid-state lasers operating in different modes (continuous wave, single pulse, high repetition-rate) and featuring different characteristics. These lasers have been and continue to be used for various purposes, ranging from fundamental physical experiments to patented industrial technologies working at many plants in Russia. Some of these lasers may be used for medical applications.

The ultraviolet (UV) lasers can perform high precision cutting of the tissue without thermal damage to the surrounding healthy tissue structures by a process known as ablative photo-decomposition. The excimer lasers XeCl (308 nm), KrF (248 nm) and ArF (193 nm) are used in cardiology, ophthalmology, dentistry and dermatology for variours clinical procedures. UV radiation affects both skin and eyes upon exposure. ArF laser may be applied for photo-ablative refractive keractomy (PRK).

The mid-infared lasers (λ=2-20μm) can be useful for performing high precision surgical work due to their extremely small absorption lengths for soft tissues. For example, around 3 and 10 μm the absorption length is only 1 μm. Unlike UV lasers, mid-infared lasers are non-mutagenic and non-cytotoxic. Delivering radiation from these lasers through flexible optical fibers the surgeon can perform minimally invasive micro- surgery with high precision.

Three type of lasers will be presented in this report:

1 ArF laser (λ = 193 nm) with average power up to 100 W and high repetition rate. This laser may be used for different clinical procedures in dentistry and ophthalmology.

2 CO-laser (λ =5.36.6 μm) with awerage power up to 50W and laser pulse duration from 10 to 100 ms. This laser may be used for surgical operation due to small absorption length in bio-tissues.

3 CO2-laser (λ =10.6 μm) with laser pulse duration less then 100 μs and energy per pulse ~1J. This laser may be used for the surgery, also for the operation with removing of upper layers of tissues without thermal damage-for close of burns and for cosmetology.