Ultrashort laser pulse bioeffects and safety.

ABSTRACT

Recent studies of retinal damage due to ultrashort laser pulses have shown that less energy is required for retinal damage for pulses shorter than 1 ns than that for longer pulses. It has also been shown that more energy is required for near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths than in the visible because the light focuses behind the retina, requiring more energy to produce a damaging fluence on the retina. We review the progress made in determining the trends in retinal damage from laser pulses of 1 ns to 100 fs in the visible and NIR wavelength regimes. We have determined the most likely damage mechanism(s) operative in this pulse width regime.