Bone Ablation without Thermal or Acoustic Mechanical Injury via a Novel Picosecond Infrared Laser (PIRL)

Background and ObjectiveA precise means to cut bone without significant thermal or mechanical injury has thus far remained elusive. A novel non-ionizing ultrafast pulsed picosecond infrared laser (PIRL) may provide the solution. Tissue ablation with the PIRL occurs via a photothermal process with thermal and stress confinement, resulting in efficient material ejection greatly enhanced through front surface spallation photomechanical effects. By comparison, the Er:YAG laser (EYL) ablates via photothermal and cavitation-induced photomechanical effects without thermal or acoustic confinement, leading to significant collateral tissue injury. This study compared PIRL and EYL bone ablation by infrared thermography (IRT), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), and histology.Study DesignProspective, comparative, ex vivo animal model.SettingOptics laboratory.Subjects and MethodsTen circular area defects were ablated in ex vivo chicken humeral cortex using PIRL and EYL at similar average power (~70 mW) ...