Selective ablation of WHHLMI rabbit atherosclerotic plaque by quantum cascade laser in the 5.7 μm wavelength range for less-invasive laser angioplasty

Abstract

We investigated the potential of a compact and high-power quantum cascade laser (QCL) in the 5.7 μm wavelength range for less-invasive laser angioplasty. Atherosclerotic plaques consist mainly of cholesteryl esters. Radiation at a wavelength of 5.75 μm is strongly absorbed in C=O stretching vibration mode of cholesteryl esters. Our previous study achieved to make cutting differences between a normal artery and an atherosclerotic lesions using nanosecond pulsed laser by difference-frequency generation (DFG laser) at the wavelength of 5.75 μm. For applying this technique to clinical treatment, a compact laser device is required. In this study, QCL irradiation effects to a porcine normal aorta were compared with DFG laser. Subsequently, QCL irradiation effects on an atherosclerotic aorta of myocardial infarction-prone Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbit (WHHLMI rabbit) and a normal rabbit aorta were observed. As a result, the QCL could make cutting differences between the rabbit atherosclerotic and normal aortas. On the other hand, the QCL induced more thermal damage to porcine normal aorta than the DFG laser at the irradiation condition of comparable ablation depths. In conclusion, the possibility of less-invasive and selective treatment of atherosclerotic plaques using the QCL in the 5.7 μm wavelength range was revealed, although improvement of QCL was required to prevent the thermal damage of a normal artery.