Safety measures for working with lasers
Last reviewed: 25.06.2018
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[Protective glasses
The first element of safety when using any laser is to prevent eye damage. Damage can occur with both visible and invisible wavelengths. The majority of modern lasers with invisible wavelengths used for grinding have a separate synchronous low-energy laser, usually a helium-neon laser, which serves as a "guiding beam." This ray is visible when the laser is functioning.
The eyes of the patient, the operating personnel and the surgeon must be protected from accidental laser damage. Everyone in the operating room must have eye protection. Protective goggles must match the wavelength of a particular laser. Indicators of optical density and wavelength, from which the glasses are protected, should be printed on their rim. Protective goggles must have an optical density of at least 5. The optical density scale is exponential. Thus, the optical density of 5 means that at the wavelength indicated on the frame of the glasses, only one ten-thousandth laser energy passes through the lenses. When working with an erbium or carbon dioxide laser, patients should either use protective glasses, or keep their eyes closed, with moist wipes applied to the eyelids. When treating the thinner skin of the eyelids within the osseous edges of the eye socket, the eyes should be protected by non-reflective metal screens.
Non-flammable coating
A wet coating or reflective foil will reduce the risk of burns from sparks.
Skin Treatment
Drugs based on alcohol can not be used for skin treatment. It is safer to use non-alcoholic solutions, such as Phisohex. All skin cleansers should be used with appropriate precautions.
Evacuator of smoke
To capture the contents of the smoke stub generated during laser operation, it is necessary to use smoke evacuators of a special design with filters.
Protective masks
Everyone in the operating room must wear a special protective mask that effectively filters the infectious particles in the smoke stub. These masks have a pore size of 0.1 μm.