Laser Shock-Wave Destruction as an Effective Method of Treatment of Pathological Integumentary Tissues

Abstract

The article describes a new method of treatment of pathological integumentary tissues by controlled shock-wave destruction. The controlled destruction is achieved by micro-explosions of finely dispersed particles applied to the pathological tissue surface and exposed to laser radiation. The method is implemented using laser radiation within the transparency range of biological tissues (0.6-1.1 μm) and a suspension of particles absorbing laser radiation in this range. Thermochemical reaction in the exposure zone leads to release of thermal and mechanical energy and results in destruction of biological tissues precisely in the area of application of the laser absorbing suspension. The mechanism of the shock wave effect combines several factors, including the prevailing acousto-mechanical component leading to radical explosive destruction of the superficial structures of tissues. An important distinctive feature of the method is that it allows the depth of the shock-wave effect to be controlled by varying the radiation intensity. In contrast to the well-known laser-based methods, the method suggested in this work allows the depth of the shock-wave effect to be decreased by increasing the laser radiation intensity.