Primary investigations on the potential of a novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system for bone surgery

Flashlamp pumped Er:YAG-lasers are successfully clinically used for both precise soft and hard tissue ablation. As an alternative, actually a novel diode pumped Er:YAG laser system (Pantec Engineering AG) becomes available, with mean laser power up to 15W and pulse repetition rate up to 1kHz. The aim of the presented study is to investigate the effect of this laser system on bone tissue at various irradiation parameters, particular at repetition rates exceeding 100 Hz. For reproducible experiments, firstly an appropriate experimental set-up was realized with a beam delivery and focusing unit, a computer controlled stepper unit with sample holder, and a shutter unit. It allowed to move the sample (1mm-3mm sawed slices of pig bone) with a defined velocity while irradiation by various laser parameters. A water spray served to moisten the sample surfaces. After irradiation the grooves were analyzed by light microscopy and laser scanning microscopy regarding to the ablation quality, the groove geometry, the ablation efficacy, and the thermal effects. The resulting grooves are slightly cone shaped (groove depth up to 3mm, width about 200 mu m) with sharp edges at the surface. At 1W, 200Hz, 5mm/s sample movement and with water irrigation the measured ablation speed Delta z/Delta t is 10.8 mm/s. The ablation depth per pulse is 54 mu m. In conclusion, these first experiments demonstrate that the diode pumped Er:YAG laser system is an efficient tool for use in bone surgery.