Quantification of Thermal Lensing Using an Artificial Eye

• Main Authors: Towle, Erica L, Rickman, John M, Dunn, Andrew K, Welch, Ashley J, Thomas, Robert J
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anatomy and Physiology; CAIN CELLS; EYE; IMAGE PROCESSING; LASER-TISSUE INTERACTION; NONLETHAL WEAPONS; NONLINEAR OPTICS; PE0603231F; PROSTHETICS; REPRINTS; THERMAL BLOOMING; THERMAL LENS EFFECT; Thermodynamics; WUAFRL7757HD03

Recent experiments have concluded that it is possible to interrupt the vision of human subjects using near-infrared (NIR) light through an effect known as thermal lensing. While these experiments successfully demonstrated the influence of thermal lensing on an amsler grid target, very little has been done to quantify the amount of visual disruption resulting from this phenomenon. Therefore, an artificial eye system was configured to better quantify the refractive power of the thermal lens generated within the human eye. NIR (1319 nm) power levels of 220, 450 and 630 mW were used in combination with exposure durations of 0.25, 0.50 and 1.00 seconds, and the influence of this NIR energy was evaluated based on changes induced within a visible probe beam (542 nm). Results show that up to a -2.0 D blur could have been induced in human subjects using NIR power levels within the current ACGIH safety thresholds (1 Jcm-2). These experiments were also able to establish a relationship between the peak NIR power and exposure durations used to the strength of the thermal lens. Published in the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 2013. Prepared in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Fort Sam Houston, TX. Prepared in cooperation with the Biomedical Engineering Department, University of Texas at Austin and the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, TASC, Inc., San Antonio, TX.