Vessel laser angioplastyin vitro

Summary This paper presents a set of measurements concerning the laser ability to perforate human atheromatic plaque and thrombus. Split segments of arteries were prepared under wet conditions and exposed to laser light at different power values and exposures. A multiline argon-ion laser, 5 W nominal power, coupled with a quartz fiber (600 μm diameter) was used. A dose effect correlation was found in the presence of homogeneous targets, independently of the power used. A linear fit to the data was made, which showed a very similar slope for homogeneous plaque (0.054±0.026, for a normalized χ²=0.08), as well as for organized thrombus (0.051±0.04, χ²=0.09). Such a correlation did not show up in the presence of nonhomogeneous targets.