ABSTRACT
The use of optical radiation in medicine is widespread and extends to many different specialist areas. Artificial optical radiation may be further divided into coherent and non-coherent radiation. Specific wavelengths of visible radiation correspond to different colours of visible light; these wavelengths are absorbed well by different materials within the skin and are therefore useful for different applications. When the tissue interactions of artificial optical radiation are considered, they are categorized into four different effects: photo-thermal effects, photo-mechanical effects, photo-chemical effects and photo-ablative effects. Lasers are coherent sources of artificial optical radiation. The properties of a certain laser depend on several different laser characteristics including the laser’s pumping method, lasing material and output modes. The simplest mode in which a laser may operate is continuous mode, that is, the laser beam is continuously emitted and applied via the delivery device.
