Comparative Analysis of Histological Results of Visible Lesion Thresholds for Thermal and LIB Induced Skin Damage at 1.3 microns and 1.5 microns

An assessment of skin damage caused by near-IR laser exposures is reported. The damage from two distinct laser-tissue temporal regimes is compared at two wavelengths (1.3 microns and 1.5 microns). Skin damage caused by thermal effects from single laser pulses is compared to damage caused by LIB (laser induced breakdown) using histological examinations. Modeling applications are explored to determine crossover points between thermal and photomechanical damage thresholds.
Prepared in collaboration with Northrop Grumman, San Antonio, TX. Presented at the Optical Interactions with Tissue and Cells (18th) held in San Jose, CA on 22-24 Jan 2007. Published in Progress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging, v8 n12, ISSN 1605-744; Proceedings of the SPIE, v6435 article 643504, Feb 2007, ISBN 9780819465481. This article is from ADA484275 Conference on Optical Interactions with Tissue and Cells (18th) Held in San Jose, California on January 22-24, 2007