Influence of wavelength on laser ablation characteristics of myocardium tissue: In-vitro study with porcine myocardium tissue in the UV spectral region

Abstract

With an OPO (optical parametric oscillator), ablation characteristics have been investigated in vitro for the porcine myocardium tissue in the spectral range 230-400nm. It was found that the ablation efficiency abruptly increased in the spectral range shorter than 300nm and the thermal damage was minimized at the shortest wavelength tested, i. e., 230nm. Based on the absorption characteristics of the tissue, qualitative discussion was given on the experimental results. Tissue fragmentation was also observed near the ablation walls, which suggested the photo-acoustic effect in the ablation mechanism.