Temperature measurement artefacts of thermocouples and fluoroptic probes during laser irradiation at 810 nm

This study examined the artefact induced in temperature measurements made with thermocouples and Luxtron fluoroptic probes in the presence of infrared radiation. Localized heating was created using a continuous-wave, 810 nm diode laser system emitting 2.0 W from a cylindrical diffusing optical fibre, in air, water and an agar-albumin phantom. The temperature was measured every 1.0 s for 10 to 150 s, with both a thermocouple and a Luxtron fluoroptic probe at distances of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 mm from the cylindrical diffusing tip. In all cases, the fluoroptic probe recorded a higher temperature than the thermocouple during laser irradiation. The difference in measured temperatures between the Luxtron probe and the thermocouple ranged from 1.6 degrees C to 18.8 degrees C in air, from 0.3 degrees C to 10.2 degrees C in water, and from 1.4 degrees C to 10.1 degrees C in phantom, depending on the distance of the probe from the laser source. The results suggest that in the presence of laser irradiation, self-heating of the Luxtron probe induces a significant artefact in temperature measurements at distances less than 4 mm from the source fibre. As a result, fluoroptic probes may not be suitable for monitoring tissue temperature for treatments when laser irradiation is present if sensors are located close to the fibre tip (<4 mm).