History of lasers in dermatology.

TL;DR: In the 1950s, based on the theory of stimulating radiant energy published by Albert Einstein in 1916, the collaboration of physicists and electrical engineers, searching for monochromatic radiation to study the spectra of molecules, led to the invention of the first laser in 1960.

Abstract: In the 1950s, based on the theory of stimulating radiant energy published by Albert Einstein in 1916, the collaboration of physicists and electrical engineers, searching for monochromatic radiation to study the spectra of molecules, led to the invention of the first laser in 1960. Ophthalmologists and dermatologists were the first to study the biological effects and therapeutic possibilities of laser beams. The construction of new laser systems emitting energy at different wavelengths or with different durations, as well as the development of new concepts of the biomedical effects, led to its broad use in surgery in the treatment of vascular and pigmented lesions as well as cosmetic applications.

Figures

Fig. 1. Experimental treatment of metastatic cutaneous melanoma with a pulsed neodymium laser by Leon Goldman [23].

Frequently asked questions

Q1. What contributions have the authors mentioned in the paper "History of lasers in dermatology" ?

Geiges et al. this paper presented a history of the use of laser technology in dermatology. 

Q2. What was the first use of the erbium laser?

In 1996, the erbium (Er):YAG laser with a very short wavelength of 2,940 nm allowed a more superficial vaporization of tissue and was used together with CO2 lasers for skin resurfacing. 

Q3. What was the first attempt to minimize the nonspecific tissue injury?

The first attempt to minimize this nonspecific tissue injury involved making the continuous- wave lasers discontinuous or quasi- continuous by using a mechanical shutter to interrupt the beam of light. 

Q4. What was the effect of the ruby laser?

The ruby laser was ineffective when used as an optical scalpel for cutting or coagulation, and when using high- energy pulses the effect became unpredictable because of cavitations (vapor bubbles). 

Q5. What was the main reason for the use of the laser?

He expected the laser to bring substantial benefits to the treatment of skin cancer: ‘Because of the accessibility and color, laser surgery can be used extensively in the field of skin cancer. 

Q6. What was the first scientific research done with lasers?

The medical specialists who were already treating diseases with sunlight and technical light sources were also the first to carry out biomedical research with lasers. 

Q7. What was the first laser used in dermatology?

In dermatology, the treatment of skin diseases with light has a long tradition – e.g. lupus vulgaris with the Finsen lamp in 1899, wound healing and rickets with artificial UV light sources afterHistory of Lasers in Dermatology 31901, and psoriasis with the combination of light and tar in 1925. 

Q8. What was the first functional optical ruby maser?

In 1960, he presented the first functional optical ruby maser excited by a xenon flash lamp to produce a bright pulse of 693.7 nm, deep red light of about a 1- ms duration and a power output of about a billion watt per pulse [14]. 

Q9. What was the first scientific breakthrough in the field of lasers?

Although the essential ideas for constructing a laser were known around 1930, it was not before the early 1950s that physicists and electrical engineers began to collaborate with the research on monochromatic radiation of constant amplitude at very small wavelengths studying the microwave and radio frequency spectra of molecules. 

Q10. What was the first optical ruby maser?

In 1961, Fred J. McClung and Robert W. Hellwarth introduced the quality- switching (Q- switching) technique to shorten the pulse length to nanoseconds with the use of an electro- optical shutter that permitted the storage and subsequent release of a peak power up to gigawatts of energy [15, 16]. 

Q11. What was the name of the ammonia beam maser?

The ammonia beam maser itself was not particularly useful as its operation was limited to the resonant frequency of the ammonia molecule and could only be used at barely detectable power levels [1]. 

Q12. What was the first use of pulsed lasers in Japan?

In the 1980s, the pulsed ruby laser was commercialized in Japan for the treatment of tattoos and pigmented lesions, while being abandoned in Europe and the USA where tattoo removal was performed by CO2 laser vaporization [27]. 

Q13. What was the first laser used in the rabbit?

One year after Maiman had presented the first ruby laser, ophthalmologists using xenon lamps for retinal photocoagulation published on ocular lesions experimentally produced in a rabbit by an optical maser [17]. 

Q14. Who was enthusiastic about the first laser he constructed?

Theodore Maiman was enthusiastic about the first laser he constructed, but regarded it as ‘a solution looking for a problem’ [1].