Abstract

In the field of otolaryngology a precise contactless treatment of the bones in the middle ear is eligible. For this reason lasers are investigated for the use in this field. The main risk during laser surgery in the middle ear (e.g. stapedotomy) is the damage of hair cells in the inner ear due to heat diffusion or high pressure fluctuations [1]. While the temperature problem has been resolved by shortening the pulse durations; the transfer of a recoil momentum due to the ablation process rises as another problem. To measure this momentum, special spring plates were designed as vibration disks for the mounting of the tissue. The probes were exposed to amplified Ti:Sapphire Laser pulses with a pulse length of 100fs and a power density up to 6,410¹³W/cm². The beam of a Laser Doppler Vibrometer was focused on backside of the plate to monitor its motion. The results were compared to a damage threshold of hair cells in the inner ear calculated by a literature value for the Sound Pressure Level (SPL)-Threshold. The first results lead to SPL values below the critical value but measurements with a higher time resolution are necessary to verify this conclusion.

© 2003 SPIE