Different lasers for angioplasty: Thermooptical comparison

The quantitative estimates of various laser angioplasty conditions have been made. The thermal model used predicts the existence of and values for the thresholds for the tissue destruction by both the CW and pulsed laser radiation. These estimates agree with the known experimental data. The minimal thermal injury of surrounding tissue is obtained for the ablation mode which can be realized by a pulse duration of 10
^-5
s or less and a fluence exceeding the threshold fluence somewhat.