An In Vitro Study of 355-nm Laser Ablation of Atherosclerotic Lesions Model

Abstract

A study of 355 nm laser with high pulse energy across various types of atherosclerotic lesion models is presented. The 355 nm laser pulses (10 ns) are delivered via a single fiber (600 μm diameter), and the ablation of calcified tissue, lipid tissue, and thrombus-like tissue are studied under varied laser fluence (40–70 mJ/mm²) and repetition rate (5–30 Hz). The contact and noncontact ablation processes of chicken tibia samples (calcified tissue) are compared at 60 mJ/mm² and 30 Hz, and the size of ablation particles is in the range of 0.1–1 μm. At the same repetition rate, the advancement rate of tricalcium phosphate samples reaches 150 μm/s at 70 mJ/mm². Calcified and lipid models demonstrate predictable increases in ablation with higher laser fluence and repetition rate. The fresh porcine blood clot samples exhibit high-quality ablation with good channel effect at 50 mJ/mm² and 30 Hz.