title: 3 μm CW lasers for myringotomy and microsurgery.
abstract: This paper describes the development and implementation of 3 μm lasers for myringotomy and microsurgery. Two different lasers were investigated. The first, an Er-doped, CW zirconate glass fiber laser optically pumped by a 970 nm diode laser, emitted > 1 W of CW power at 2.76 μm with concomitant green incoherent emission that served as a convenient visible illumination beam. The second, a 1 W CW Er:YAG solid-state laser also optically pumped by a 970 nm diode laser, emitted > 1 W of CW power at 2.94 μm, coincident with the strongest infrared water absorption peak. Running CW, both lasers are expected to avoid the loud acoustical shocks associated with pulsed lasers. Myringotomies were carried out with the Er:YAG laser on anaesthetized guinea pigs and the effects of the laser were documented. Laser ablated samples of tympanic membrane, soft tissue and bone were histologically examined. Histology results indicated that the CW Er:YAG laser is a potential candidate for a new myringotomy tool and possibly for otologic microsurgery, but deliverable power levels need to be increased to the 2 W (or higher) level. This work was funded under NIH SBIR Grant No. 5R44DC004899.
authors.affiliation: Spire Corporation, One Patriots Park, Bedford, MA, USA 01730.
authors.forename: Kurt J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Linden
authors.affiliation: First co-author, Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, USA 02115.
authors.forename: Christian P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Pfeffer
authors.affiliation: Sheaumann Laser, 45 Bartlett St., Marlborough, MA, USA 01752.
authors.forename: John Gary
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Sheaumann Laser, 45 Bartlett St., Marlborough, MA, USA 01752.
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: D'Alleva
authors.affiliation: Spire Corporation, One Patriots Park, Bedford, MA, USA 01730.
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aslani
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, USA 02115.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gorski
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, USA 02115.
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kenna
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital, 300 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA, USA 02115.
authors.forename: Dennis S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Poe
keywords: Er:YAG laser; Mid-IR lasers; microsurgery; myringotomy; zirconate glass laser