Characterization of size-specific particulate matter emission rates for a simulated medical laser procedure - a pilot study

Details

• Personal Author:
  Conroy LM ; Esmen NA ; Lacey SE ; Lippert JF ; Liu LC ; Lopez R ; Conroy LM ; Esmen NA ; Lacey SE ; Lippert JF ; Liu LC ; Lopez R
• Description:
  Prior investigation on medical laser interaction with tissue has suggested device operational parameter settings influence laser generated air contaminant emission, but this has not been systematically explored. A laboratory-based simulated medical laser procedure was designed and pilot tested to determine the effect of laser operational parameters on the size-specific mass emission rate of laser generated particulate matter. Porcine tissue was lased in an emission chamber using two medical laser systems (CO2, gamma = 10 600 nm; Ho:YAG, gamma = 2100 nm) in a fractional factorial study design by varying three operational parameters (beam diameter, pulse repetition frequency, and power) between two levels (high and low) and the resultant plume was measured using two real-time size-selective particle counters. Particle count concentrations were converted to mass emission rates before an analysis of variance was used to determine the influence of operational parameter settings on size-specific mass emission rate. Particle shape and diameter were described for a limited number of samples by collecting particles on polycarbonate filters, and photographed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to examine method of particle formation. An increase in power and decrease in beam diameter led to an increase in mass emission for the Ho:YAG laser at all size ranges. For the CO2 laser, emission rates were dependent on particle size and were not statistically significant for particle ranges between 5 and 10 um. When any parameter level was increased, emission rate of the smallest particle size range also increased. Beam diameter was the most influential variable for both lasers, and the operational parameters tested explained the most variability at the smallest particle size range. Particle shape was variable and some particles observed by SEM were likely created from mechanical methods. This study provides a foundation for future investigations to better estimate size-specific mass emission rates and particle characteristics for additional laser operational parameters in order to estimate occupational exposure, and to inform control strategies. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution, Indoor Communicable Diseases Environmental Monitoring Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Laboratories Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Workplace

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• Keywords:
  Air-contamination Author Keywords: Emission Rate Environmental-control Exposure-assessment Exposure-chambers Infection-control Laboratory-techniques Laboratory-testing Laser Generated Particulate Matter Lasers Measurement-equipment Medical-equipment Medical Laser Occupational-exposure Particulate-dust Particulate Matter Particulates Scanning Electron Microscopy Size-selective Air Sampling Work-environment

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• ISSN:
  0003-4878
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article ; Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Illinois ; Indiana ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health ; Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America ; North America
• Volume:
  59
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20045641
• Citation:
  Ann Occup Hyg 2015 May; 59(4):514-524
• Contact Point Address:
  Ramon Lopez, PhD, Indiana University, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Science, 714 N. Senate St. (EF 200), Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA
• Email:
  lopezram@iu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• Performing Organization:
  University of Illinois at Chicago
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Annals of Occupational Hygiene
• End Date:
  20290630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:35b5f7310797af83e2aa9c9f06efe3e6c110f523b3b75e173cfabfe09432ade5a4309cf17368fa3a3588eb7c8349fee511222688dd2b2a61fe75d58db8f998b4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/200989/cdc_200989_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.44 MB ]