ABSTRACT
The key to determining the type of eye protection necessary is in understanding how the values of laser beam intensities that cause permanent damage are determined and what these values for the laser at hand are in terms of power density (W/cm2) for continuous wave (CW) lasers and energy density (J/cm2) for pulsed lasers. Fortunately, early in the evolution of laser technology, a keen interest in potential eye damage was shown by many researchers in this field. Animals were exposed to laser radiation of every available type and the damage evaluated to determine the intensity that caused the first indication of tissue degradation. Results were corroborated by independent teams of experimentalists and were used in determining the so-called “maximum permissible exposure” (MPE) limits in the standards for control of laser hazards, such as the American National Standard Institute’s (ANSI) Standard No. Z136.1 “for the safe use of lasers” referred to in previous chapters.
