{
  "abstract": "Purpose\n\nLasers are an attractive alternative to mechanical tools for bone preparation, but clinical adoption is limited by low removal rates. This study investigated whether spatiotemporal sequencing of Er:YAG pulses can improve thermomechanical bone ablation, and how pulse separation and delivery order affect ablation rate, efficiency, and heating.Methods\n\nA prototype Er:YAG system, with galvanometer scanning, ablated cancellous bone in eight ex vivo lamb femurs. Arm 1 varied the separation between consecutive pulses (0.175 to 0.275 mm). Arm 2 compared four targeting patterns within a fixed pulse grid, maintaining constant fluence and total energy for three of the four patterns. Thermal imaging and pre/post confocal scans quantified heating and volumetric removal.Results\n\nAblation rate was consistent across pulse separations (521 to 552mm³/min), while layer depth scaled linearly with deposited energy (R² = 0.94), decoupling depth control from throughput. Targeting strategy significantly affected ablation efficiency, ranging from 0.19-0.32mm³/J (p < 0.001). Hatching was fastest and most efficient, sustaining consistently high peak surface temperatures (200-250 °C) but lower mean surface temperatures than either scatter strategy.Conclusion\n\nAblation efficiency varied with pulse order under controlled conditions, indicating a dependence beyond single pulse dynamics. We propose inter-pulse thermal coupling, whereby residual heat from a preceding pulse lowers the energy required by the next. Optimising the targeting strategy achieved the fastest reported removal rate for cancellous bone, identifying pulse sequencing as a lever for more efficient ablation.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. sam.withers@research.uwa.edu.au.",
    "ArthroLase, Perth, Australia. sam.withers@research.uwa.edu.au.",
    "School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.",
    "ArthroLase, Perth, Australia.",
    "School of Physics, Mathematics and Computing, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Sam Withers",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-4979-2422"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Joshua Troy"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Brett Robertson"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Riaz Khan"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Nathan Pavlos"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3tvyvvdbwqzvr.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1007/s10103-026-05075-0",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13695608",
  "id": "3tvyvvdbwqzvr",
  "issns": [
    "0268-8921",
    "1435-604X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42925325",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2206|Laser Material Processing Techniques"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223451622",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13695608?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13695608",
  "pmid": "42925325",
  "published": "2026-10-24",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3tvyvvdbwqzvr.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42925325",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42925325"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:F27",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Effect of pulse targeting strategy on Er:YAG laser ablation rate and efficiency in ex vivo cancellous bone.",
  "title_text": "Effect of pulse targeting strategy on Er:YAG laser ablation rate and efficiency in ex vivo cancellous bone.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:33Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3tvyvvdbwqzvr",
  "venue": "Lasers in medical science",
  "versions": []
}