EFFECTS OF LASER IRRADIATION ON NORMAL AND ANEMIC HUMAN BLOOD

The effects of laser irradiation on the whole human blood were studied. The blood samples were taken from healthy donors with normal blood and donors with anemic blood. The blood samples were exposed to laser radiation. Two lasers of the same types, continuous wave (CW) diode pumped solid-state lasers (DPSSL' s) were used to irradiate the blood samples. One of these laser has a wavelength 532 nm (green laser beam), while the other laser has a wavelength 671 nm (red laser beam). The output power of the two lasers can be varied over the range 0 - 100 mW. In the present study, the output power was fixed at 20 mW for both lasers. The blood samples were exposed to different irradiation times, 5, 15, and 30 min. Significant changes in the optical parameters of the irradiated blood samples were observed in comparison with that of the un-irradiated blood samples (the control samples). These optical parameters were determined from the measured absorbance spectra of the un-irradiated and irradiated samples. The absorbance spectra were measured using a UV-Visible double-beam spectrophotometer operating over the wavelength range 190 - 1100 nm. The results of the present study revealed that the laser irradiation can produce considerable effects on the human blood samples, suggesting the suitability of the laser beam irradiation for the biological and medical applications.