XeCl laser ablation of atherosclerotic aorta: Luminescence spectroscopy of ablation products

XeCl laser ablation of atherosclerotic aorta tissue was investigated. Luminescence spectra of ablation products were measured for soft and hard arterial tissues. A pronounced difference observed between plume luminescence for various plaques and normal vessel wall correlates with the chemical composition of the tissue. The mechanism of plume luminescence appeared to be thermochemical excitation of ablation products (particles, atoms, molecules, etc.) in the air. The process of soft tissue ablation was delayed with respect to the exciting laser pulse at relatively low laser fluences close to the ablation threshold. The kinetics of the ablation process as a function of laser‐pulse energy fluence is reported. The data indicate that tissue ejection mechanism, which involves vapor bubbles formation, expansion and explosion, is suitable for the description of the XeCl excimer laser ablation of soft tissues. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.