Technical Prerequisites, Safety Considerations and Treatment Settings in Amsterdam

Abstract

All treatments were performed with a 100 Watt Neodymium:YAG laser (Medilas 1, MBB-Medizintechnik GmbH, Munich, FRG), a solid state laser which emits invisible light in the near infrared at a wavelength of 1,060 nm. The lasing medium is an Yttrium-Alu minium-Garnet (YAG) crystal doped with laser-active Neodymium ions. These ions are excited by means of the light of a Krypton discharge lamp. The crystal is enclosed between one reflecting and one reflecting and partially transmitting resonator mirror. Since the generated laser light is invisible, a pilot beam, emitted by a low power (2 mW) Helium-Neon laser, is needed which is concentric with the Neodymium:YAG laser beam. Both are transmitted to the operating field through a flexible fiberoptic light guide of quartz glass, so that the pilot beam marks the site where the operating beam will strike.