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

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 mu m 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 mu m. At the same repetition rate, the advancement rate of tricalcium phosphate samples reaches 150 mu m/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.