Evaluating the retinal hazard from exposures to the supercontinuum generated by a NIR femtosecond laser

Xomalin G. Peralta; Joseph E. Clary; Amanda M. Peterson; Amanda J. Tijerina; Matthew Macasadia; Gary D. Noojin; Brian J. Lund; Semih Kumru; Benjamin A. Rockwell; Francesco J. Echeverria

doi:10.1117/12.2646262

7 March 2023 Evaluating the retinal hazard from exposures to the supercontinuum generated by a NIR femtosecond laser

Xomalin G. Peralta, Joseph E. Clary, Amanda M. Peterson, Amanda J. Tijerina, Matthew Macasadia, Gary D. Noojin, Brian J. Lund, Semih Kumru, Benjamin A. Rockwell, Francesco J. Echeverria

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12377, Optical Interactions with Tissue and Cells XXXIV; 1237704 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2646262
Event: SPIE BiOS, 2023, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

Lasers with ultrashort pulse durations have become ubiquitous in a variety of applications, including medical procedures such as laser eye surgery. These sources generate high peak powers such that the role of nonlinear optical effects resulting from the interaction of femtosecond pulses with the surrounding media needs to be considered when evaluating their potential hazard to the eye. In the latest version of the ANSI laser safety standards, the safe exposure limits have been relaxed at wavelengths between 1.2 – 1.4 µm because of biological data collected for the nanosecond and millisecond pulse regimes. However, this increase did not consider nonlinear optical effects resulting from the interaction with femtosecond pulses. One manifestation of these nonlinear effects is the generation of broadband light known as supercontinuum. We sent a near infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser with peak energies at or below the energy corresponding to the maximum permissible exposure (MPE) limit listed in laser safety standards into the eye of anesthetized porcine subjects. Exposures were performed with both collimated and converging beams to simulate an eye focused at a far distance and one focused at a near distance, respectively, and have the potential to generate a supercontinuum within the eye. Nominally 1 h and 24 h after exposure, the retina was examined using a fundus camera. The presence or absence of any alteration of the retina was noted. The results of this study inform the laser safety standards committees about potential hazards to the eye due to the supercontinuum generated by nonlinear effects in the aqueous media of the eye.

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Xomalin G. Peralta, Joseph E. Clary, Amanda M. Peterson, Amanda J. Tijerina, Matthew Macasadia, Gary D. Noojin, Brian J. Lund, Semih Kumru, Benjamin A. Rockwell, and Francesco J. Echeverria "Evaluating the retinal hazard from exposures to the supercontinuum generated by a NIR femtosecond laser", Proc. SPIE 12377, Optical Interactions with Tissue and Cells XXXIV, 1237704 (7 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2646262

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