Abstract |
Results are presented related to the ablation of animal cartilage by a uniform part of a excimer laser beam. In particular the ablation threshold, and the ablation rate for low and high fluences were measured. The effect of the pulse repetition rate on the cartilage temperature and the influence of a flowing cooling gas were also investigated. Additionally it is shown that the acoustic waves generated during laser ablation can be used to determine the ablation threshold, the ablation rate and also to characterize the different regions of the process. On line measurement of each individual ablation rate is possible by the observation of the delay of the arrival of the acoustic wave to a piezoelectric detector located behind the sample. Also in the present work, qualitative changes of rabbit ear cartilage tissues after irradiation with ArF excimer laser are reported. The irradiation was performed with conditions and parameters similar to those used in the surgical techniques in vivo based on the use of ArF excimer laser. The histological study was performed with the help of both optical and electron microscopy and the most significant morphological changes were observed in the basic substance.
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