Comparative analysis of spot size dependence for lesions produced by infrared laser pulses

James J. Thomas; Clarence P. Cain; David J. Stolarski; Gary D. Noojin; Kurt J. Schuster; Thomas A. Eggleston; Kevin Stockton; William P. Roach

doi:10.1117/12.476885

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20 June 2003 Comparative analysis of spot size dependence for lesions produced by infrared laser pulses

James J. Thomas, Clarence P. Cain, David J. Stolarski, Gary D. Noojin, Kurt J. Schuster, Thomas A. Eggleston, Kevin Stockton, William P. Roach

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4953, Laser and Noncoherent Light Ocular Effects: Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment III; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.476885
Event: Biomedical Optics, 2003, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The current laser safety standard for skin exposures, ANSI Z136.1, was based on a limited number of data points for various beam sizes at a few specific wavelengths. To help refine this standard, we explore the existence of a relationship between beam spot size and the ED50 lesion threshold values. In the first phase of this study we analyzed the spot size dependence of the skin lesion thresholds from previously documented experiments. We utilized the thermal skin model to predict damage thresholds and compared these with those presented in this paper. We report the results of this analysis , which we used to design an experiment to determine the true spot-size dependency of skin laser damage thresholds. The data collected in this first phase is discussed and compared to the existing ANSI Z136.1 (2000) laser safety standard.

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James J. Thomas, Clarence P. Cain, David J. Stolarski, Gary D. Noojin, Kurt J. Schuster, Thomas A. Eggleston, Kevin Stockton, and William P. Roach "Comparative analysis of spot size dependence for lesions produced by infrared laser pulses", Proc. SPIE 4953, Laser and Noncoherent Light Ocular Effects: Epidemiology, Prevention, and Treatment III, (20 June 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.476885

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