Abstract
We studied the effect of the temperature-dependence of the scleral absorption coefficient on the accuracy of thermal models of laser-induced scleral heating. The scleral surface temperature increase during pulsed Holmium:YAG and Thulium:YAG laser irradiation was calculated with a constant (static model) and temperature-dependent (dynamic model) absorption coefficient. The 1D heat equation was solved with the assumption that thermal diffusion during the pulse is negligible. We found that the dynamic model yields lower temperatures than the static model. For the sclera, the overestimation becomes significant when the surface temperature is above 70 degree(s)C. This study shows that the temperature-dependence of the absorption coefficient must be taken into account to accurately predict laser-induced scleral or corneal heating.
