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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jul 9.
Published in final edited form as: Neurosurg Clin N Am. 2015 Oct 24;27(1):37–50. doi: 10.1016/j.nec.2015.08.004

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Effects of temperature on tissues. Both laser ablation and RF ablation have effects on tissues as a function of temperature. Lower than 44ºC, tissue effects are absent irrespective of time. Damage is time dependent between 44ºC and 59ºC; damage occurs as a function of time and temperature as predicted by the Arrhenius equation. This is the important temperature range for controllable lesions using LITT. At 60ºC or greater, tissue coagulation is instantaneous; these temperature effects occur close to the laser fiber diffuser tip. Instant vaporization occurs greater than 100ºC; the system is generally set to turn off automatically if the temperature near the tip reaches 90ºC to prevent damage to the tip.