Following the advent of percutaneous balloon vel oped and are available for clinical use, as well angioplasty, interventional cardiovascular pro as those that are still in investigational phases. cedures have become of great interest to the Clinical case reports are presented by expert in cardiologist, radiologist, and cardiovascular vestigators on the use of various catheter systems surgeon. One of the most extensively explored in the coronary and peripheral circulation. alternatives to bypass surgery is laser-mediated Part V (Chapters 17-23) is the most up-to angioplasty. The fascination with laser radia date review of the clinical experience with vari tion has greatly contributed to its popularity, ous laser delivery systems. There is an emphasis but has also burdened it with unrealistic ex on patient selection, criteria for lesion choice, pectations. Many commercial laser systems are and follow-up data. A detailed description of available to the clinician and the researcher, laser recanalization techniques is presented for which often makes the choice of a laser system the various systems in the clinical setting.

Inhalt
I. Historical Background.- 1. The History and Development of the Medical Laser.- 2. Historical Background, Development, and Future Trends of Lasers in Cardiovascular Disease.- II. Laser Physics in Medical Applications.- 3. Laser Physics and its Relevance to Applications in Medicine.- 4. Laser Sources for Angioplasty.- 5. The Excimer Laser-Tissue Interactions and Early Clinical Results.- 6. Laser Physics and Thermal Properties.- 7. Thermal Analysis of Laser Ablation of Cardiovascular Tissue.- 8. Light Distribution, Optical Properties, and Cardiovascular Tissues.- III. Experimental Studies: Laser- Tissue Interaction, Protodynamic Therapy, Spectroscopy, Electrophysiology.- 9. Immediate and Chronic Effects of Laser Angioplasty.- 10. Photosensitizer-Enhanced Laser Angioplasty.- 11. Laser-Induced Arterial Fluorescence Spectroscopy.- 12. Laser Balloon Angioplasty: Experimental In-Vivo and In-Vitro Studies.- 13. Laser Catheter Ablation of Arrhythmias.- IV. Laser Delivery Systems.- 14. Optical Fibers.- 15. Laser Angioplasty with Optically Modified Fiber Tips.- 16. Catheter Systems for Laser Angioplasty.- V. Clinical Experience with Laser Angioplasty.- 17. Clinical Experience with Laser Angioplasty.- 18. Laser Recanalization and Treatment of Peripheral Atherosclerosis: A Vascular Surgeon's Perspective.- 19. Intraoperative Use of the Laser for Coronary Artery Disease.- 20. Laser Thermal Angioplasty with an Argon-Laser-Heated, Metallic-Capped Fiber optic.- 21. Laser Angioplasty Using a Special Sapphire-Tip Catheter: Preliminary Clinical Trial.- 22. Laser Angioplasty: New Modalities.- 23. Evaluation, Treatment, and Care of the Laser Angioplasty Patient: A Nursing Perspective.- VI. Additional Clinical Experience with Other Cardiovascular Laser Applications.- 24. Laser Modificationof the Myocardium for the Treatment of Cardiac Arrhythmias: Background, Current Results, and Future Possibilities.- 25. Laser Endarterectomy.- 26. Vascular Tissue Bonding Using Laser Energy.- 27. Percutaneous Laser Myoplasty for Treatment of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.- 28. Direct Myocardial Revascularization: Preliminary Experience.- VII. Angioscopy and Ultrasound Guidance.- 29. Percutaneous Cardiovascular Angioscopy.- 30. Angioscopy of Congenital Cardiac Lesions.- 31. Intravascular Ultrasound Imaging.- VIII. Industrial, Regulatory and Population Analysis.- 32. Safety and Effectiveness in Clinical Trials Involving Lasers: Food and Drug Administration Perspective.- 33. Market Trends and Business Considerations.- 34. The Acceptance of Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty and Laser Angioplasty.