Open Access

ARTICLE

Theoretical Analysis of Thermal Damage in Biological Tissues Caused by Laser Irradiation

Jianhua Zhou^∗, J. K. Chen^†, Yuwen Zhang^‡

∗ PostdoctoralResearchAssociate. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of MissouriColumbia, Columbia, MO 65211
† William & Nancy Thompson Professor. Email: chenjnk@missouri.edu. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of MissouriColumbia, Columbia, MO 65211
‡ Associate Professor. Email: zhangyu@missouri.edu. Department of MechanicalandAerospaceEngineering, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO 65211

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics 2007, 4(1), 27-40. https://doi.org/10.3970/mcb.2007.004.027

Abstract

A bioheat transfer approach is proposed to study thermal damage in biological tissues caused by laser radiation. The laser light propagation in the tissue is first solved by using a robust seven-flux model in cylindrical coordinate system. The resulting spatial distribution of the absorbed laser energy is incorporated into the bioheat transfer equation for solving temperature response. Thermal damage to the tissue is assessed by the extent of denatured protein using a rate process equation. It is found that for the tissue studied, a significant protein denaturation process would take place when temperature exceeds about 53oC. The effects of laser power, exposure time and beam size as well as the tissue absorption and scattering coefficients on the thermal damage process are examined and discussed. The laser conditions that cause irreversible damage to the tissue are also identified.

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