Picosecond pulsed lasers can provide significant advantages for high precision, minimally invasive surgery compared to conventional electrocautery tools or utilising continuous wave or long pulsed lasers which can induce high degrees of thermal damage. By combining a range of characterisation techniques such as high-speed imaging, surface profilometry and histopathological analysis of the laser ablated regions we have gained deeper understanding into the dynamics of the plasma-mediated ablation. For example, correlation of time-resolved images with histopathology reveals subtleties about the process such as cavitation effects which must be mitigated in order minimise collateral thermal damage. Additionally, by investigating these phenomena on clinically relevant tissue models we can move towards the realisation of new surgical procedures for more complete removal of disease (such as cancer) from delicate and vital structures within the human body. Such procedures require this high precision to minimise necrotic tissue margins, avoiding severe complications and preserving function. In addition to the fundamentals of laser tissue interactions, novel optical technologies such as beam shaping, micro-optics, imaging and novel fibre optic delivery have also been investigated in order to enable practical and deployable devices.
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