Progress of medical lasers: Fundamentals and Applications

Abstract

Medical lasers for various clinical procedures including dermatology and plastic surgery, wound healings, nerve stimulation, dentistry, cancer therapy, and ophthalmic surgeries are reviewed. The fundamental principles behind the technologies are also presented. The laser spectra of UV (200-400) um, visible (400-700) nm, near-IR (700-2900) nm, and mid-IR (3-5) um having various penetration depths define invasive and noninvasive procedures. Diode lasers have been widely used in many surgical procedures including soft tissue cutting, coagulation and cancer thermal therapy. Various photosensitizers are presented in matching the laser absorption wavelengths. Finally, the principles and applications of photothermal therapy (PTT) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) are discussed in great details.