Ex vivo evaluation of super pulse diode laser system with smart temperature feedback for contact soft-tissue surgery

Until recently, Laser Diodes (LD) have been limited in their ability to deliver high peak power levels, which, in turn, limited their clinical capabilities. New technological developments made possible advent of “super pulse” LD (SPLD). Moreover, advanced means of smart thermal feedback enable precise control of laser power, thus ensuring safe and optimally efficacious application. In this work, we have evaluated a prototype SPLD system ex vivo. The device provided up to 25 W average and up to 150 W pulse power at 940 nm wavelength. The laser was operated in the thermal feedback-controlled mode, where power of the laser was varied automatically as a function of real-time thermal feedback to maintain constant tip temperature. The system was also equipped with a fiber tip initiated with advanced TiO2 /tungsten technique. Evaluation methods were designed to assess: 1) Speed and depth of cutting; 2) Dimensions of coagulative margin. The SPLD system was compared with industry-leading conventional diode and CO2 devices. The results indicate that the SPLD system provides increase in speed of controlled cutting by a factor of >2 in comparison with the conventional diode laser and approaching that of CO2 device. The produced ratio of the depth of cut to the thermal damage margin was significantly higher than conventional diodes and close to that of the CO2 system, suggesting optimal hemostasis conditions. SPLD technology with real-time temperature control has a potential for creating a new standard of care in the field of precision soft tissue surgery.