Wavelength dependence of laser-induced retinal injury

David J. Lund; Peter R. Edsall; Bruce E. Stuck

doi:10.1117/12.598285

18 April 2005 Wavelength dependence of laser-induced retinal injury

David J. Lund, Peter R. Edsall, Bruce E. Stuck

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 5688, Ophthalmic Technologies XV; (2005) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.598285
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2005, San Jose, CA, United States

Abstract

The threshold for laser-induced retinal damage is dependent primarily upon the laser wavelength and the exposure duration. The study of the wavelength dependence of the retinal damage threshold has been greatly enhanced by the availability of tunable lasers. The Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO), capable of providing useful pulse energy throughout a tuning range from 400 nm to 2200 nm, made it possible to determine the wavelength dependence of laser-induced retinal damage thresholds for q-switched pulses throughout the visible and NIR spectrum. Studies using the a tunable TI:Saph laser and several fixed-wavelength lasers yielded threshold values for 0.1 s exposures from 440 nm to 1060 nm. Laser-induced retinal damage for these exposure durations results from thermal conversion of the incident laser irradiation and an action spectrum for thermal retinal damage was developed based on the wavelength dependent transmission and absorption of ocular tissue and chromatic aberration of the eye optics. Long (1-1000s) duration exposures to visible laser demonstrated the existence of non-thermal laser-induced retinal damage mechanisms having a different action spectrum. This paper will present the available data for the wavelength dependence of laser-induced thermal retinal damage and compare this data to the maximum permissible exposure levels (MPEs) provided by the current guidelines for the safe use of lasers.

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David J. Lund, Peter R. Edsall, and Bruce E. Stuck "Wavelength dependence of laser-induced retinal injury", Proc. SPIE 5688, Ophthalmic Technologies XV, (18 April 2005); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.598285

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