Electric discharge-induced cavitation: a competing approach to pulsed lasers for performing microsurgery in liquid media

Daniel Palanker*, Igor Turovets, Aaron Lewis

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cavitation bubbles generated by fast overheating of water during pulsed laser applications in liquid medium have been shown to be a driving force of the soft tissue cutting. An alternative approach proposed in this paper is the generation of cavitation bubbles by fast overheating of liquid conductive medium by a short pulse of electric current. An electrical system based on a tapered microelectrode has been developed for generation of a high voltage sub-microsecond discharge in physiological medium. A highly localized ozone of power dissipation - about 20 μm in size - results in a low threshold energy of cavitation bubble generation - about 3 μJ. Efficiency of the pulse energy conversion to the bubble energy is about 12 percent, which is lower than the best results obtained with laser- based instrumentation. In spite of this, due to the low threshold energy, the cavitation bubbles that are required for effective cutting of soft tissue are generated at a lower energy than has been achieved with the laser-based instrumentation. The prospects and limitations of this newly developed technology are compared to the present applications of fiber-delivered pulsed lasers in microsurgery.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
PublisherSociety of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers
Pages351-360
Number of pages10
ISBN (Print)0819423866
StatePublished - 1997
Externally publishedYes
EventLaser-Tissue Interaction VIII - San Jose, CA, USA
Duration: 9 Feb 199712 Feb 1997

Publication series

NameProceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume2975
ISSN (Print)0277-786X

Conference

ConferenceLaser-Tissue Interaction VIII
CitySan Jose, CA, USA
Period9/02/9712/02/97

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