Er:YAG laser ablation of tissue: Measurement of ablation rates

TLDR

The ablation of soft and hard tissue using the normal‑spiking‑mode Er:YAG laser was quantified by measuring the number of pulses required to perforate a measured thickness of tissue. Bone is ablated at 2.94 μm radiation, but ablation efficiency drops at fluences above 20 J/cm² due to plasma formation and at low fluence due to desiccation, while aorta and skin show higher efficiencies, with skin achieving 540 μg/J and >400 μm per pulse, suggesting a complex explosive removal process.

Abstract

Abstract The ablation of both soft and hard tissue using the normal‐spiking‐mode Er:YAG laser has been quantified by measuring the number of pulses needed to perforate a measured thickness of tissue. Bone is readily ablated by 2.94 μm radiation; however, at per pulse fluences greater than 20 J/cm 2 , plasma formation decreases ablation efficiency. At low fluence, desiccation can prevent efficient ablation of bone. The ablation efficiency for aorta and skin is higher than for bone. The ablation efficiency, 540 μg/J, and the ablation depth per pulse, >400 μm, for skin are too high to be readily explained by simple models of ablation and thus provide evidence for a more complex explosive removal process.