LASER-PRODUCED PLASMAS IN MEDICINE

The laser has found numerous applications in medicine, beginning with uses in ophthalmology in the 1960's. Today, lasers are used in tissue cutting, blood coagulation, photodynamic cancer therapy, arterial plaque removal, dental drilling, etc. In this paper, we examine those areas of laser medicine in which plasmas (ionized gases) are produced. In fact, the presence of a plasma is essential for the application at hand to succeed. We consider examples of the plasmas produced in ophthalmology (e.g., lens membrane destruction following cataract surgery), in urology and gastroenterology (e.g., kidney and gall stone ablation and fragmentation), and in cardiology and vascular surgery (e.g., laser ablation and removal of fibro-fatty and calcified arterial plaque). Experimental data are presented, along with some results from computer simulations of the phenomena. Comments on future directions in these areas are included.