Table 3.
Ablation Rates
| Delivery Method | Spot Diameter (μm) | Wavelength (μm) | Mean Energy (mJ) | Mean Fluence (J/cm2) | Ablation Rate (μm/pulse) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-space | 300 ± 20 | 6.09 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 2-3 |
| 1.3 | 1.8 | 3-6 | |||
| ≥ 1.5 | ≥ 2.1 | 6-10* | |||
| 6.27 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1-3 | ||
| 1.1 | 1.6 | 2-5 | |||
| ≥ 1.8 | ≥ 2.5 | 5-8* | |||
| 6.45 | ≤ 1.0 | ≤ 1.4 | not measurable | ||
| Waveguide | 200 ± 20 | 6.09 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1-3 |
| 0.8 | 2.5 | 2-4 | |||
| 1.0 | 3.2 | 4-6* | |||
| 6.27 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 0.5-1 | ||
| 0.85 | 2.7 | 2-5* | |||
| 6.43 | ≤1.0 | 3.2 | not measureable |
*
These conditions often, but not always, resulted in perforation of nerve sheaths within 1-3 s. When the nerve sheath was perforated, a minimum etch rate was estimated based on the sheath thickness.