Safe exposure limits for directed energy sources are derived from a compilation of known injury thresholds
taken primarily from animal models and simulation data. The summary statistics for these experiments are
given as exposure levels representing a 50% probability of injury, or ED50, and associated variance. We
examine biological variance in focal geometries and thermal properties and the influence each has in singlepulse
ED50 threshold studies for 514-, 694-, and 1064-nanometer laser exposures in the thermal damage
time domain. Damage threshold is defined to be the amount of energy required for a retinal burn on at
least one retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cell measuring approximately 10 microns in diameter. Better
understanding of experimental variance will allow for more accurate safety buffers for exposure limits and
improve directed energy research methodology.
Near-infrared (NIR) laser exposures to the retina are affected by intraocular absorption, chromatic aberration and retinal
absorption. We present the latest results of retinal exposure to wavelengths between 1.0 to 1.319 micrometers and show
how the trends for long-pulse exposure are dramatically affected by intraocular absorption in the anterior portion of the
eye.
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