Laser-generated acoustic wave studies on tattoo pigment

Lorna M. Paterson; Mark Russell Dickinson; Terence A. King

doi:10.1117/12.229570

10 January 1996 Laser-generated acoustic wave studies on tattoo pigment

Lorna M. Paterson, Mark Russell Dickinson, Terence A. King

Proceedings Volume 2624, Laser-Tissue Interaction and Tissue Optics; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.229570
Event: BiOS Europe '95, 1995, Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

A Q-switched alexandrite laser (180 ns at 755 nm) was used to irradiate samples of agar embedded with red, black and green tattoo dyes. The acoustic waves generated in the samples were detected using a PVDF membrane hydrophone and compared to theoretical expectations. The laser pulses were found to generate acoustic waves in the black and green samples but not in the red pigment. Pressures of up to 1.4 MPa were produced with irradiances of up to 96 MWcm^-2 which is comparable to the irradiances used to clear pigment embedded in skin. The pressure gradient generated across pigment particles was approximately 1.09 X 10¹⁰ Pam^-1 giving a pressure difference of 1.09 +/- 0.17 MPa over a particle with mean diameter 100 micrometers . This is not sufficient to permanently damage skin which has a tensile strength of 7.4 MPa.

Citation Download Citation

Lorna M. Paterson, Mark Russell Dickinson, and Terence A. King "Laser-generated acoustic wave studies on tattoo pigment", Proc. SPIE 2624, Laser-Tissue Interaction and Tissue Optics, (10 January 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.229570

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