title: Tissue ablation with excimer laser and multiple fiber catheters: effects of optical fiber density and fluence.
abstract: This study was performed to assess the ablational properties of 1.4-, 1.7-, and 2.0-mm wire-guided multiple fiber catheters coupled to a XeCl excimer laser.  Samples of postmortem human aorta were irradiated in blood at fluences of 40, 50, and 60 mJ/mm 2. Our results indicate that: 1) an increase in the active irradiation coverage results in an increase in the ablation efficiency; 2) the ablation efficiency is not fluence related using the 1.4- or 1.7-mm multiple fiber catheter but efficiency is fluence dependent using the 2.0-mm multiple fiber catheter; 3) the depth of tissue ablated with a multiple fiber catheter depends primarily upon the proportion of the active irradiation coverage at the catheter tip; 4) the 2.0-mm multiple fiber catheter induces craters surrounded by a larger zone of tissue damage than that observed with the 1.4- or 1.7-mm multiple fiber catheter; and 5) the 2.0-mm multiple fiber catheter should be used cautiously for laser angioplasty because of its high penetration and its risk of arterial wall damage.
authors.affiliation: Unite d'Hemodynamique et de Cardiologie Interventionnelle, Service d'Explorations Fonctionnelles, INSERM, France.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kvasnicka
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lange
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Geschwind
mesh_terms: D016342:Angioplasty, Laser / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D001011:Aorta / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D004867:Equipment Design; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D055100:Optical Fibers; D010784:Photomicrography