A. J. Welch
Professor Emeritus
Biomedical Engineering
Marion E. Forsman Centennial Professorship in Engineering
Phone: 512-471-1453
Fax: (512) 232-9140
e-mail: welch@mail.utexas.edu
Dr. A.J. Welch earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in 1964 from Rice University. He joined the faculty of the Cockrell School of Engineering in 1964, and is involved in the general field of Medical Optics. His specialty is the optical and thermal response of tissue to laser radiation. Basic science investigations of light and heat propagation in tissue form the bases for evaluating present and future therapeutic and diagnostic applications of lasers.
Most recently, Dr. Welch and his graduate students discovered and patented a method using hyper-osmotic agents to greatly reduce light scattering in tissue. By creating transparent tissue, it may be possible to enhance light based diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.
Dr. Welch's projects include the following:
- Tissue Clearing research continues with studies of the effect of hyperosmotic agents upon blood flow in skin and the effect of the agents upon laser coagulation of blood vessels.
- Dr. Welch is working with the Air Force to determine the effect of thermal lensing in the eye upon laser safety standards in the 1150 to 1350 nm spectrum. Small changes in temperature in the lens and vitreous cause local changes in index of refraction that alters the path of the laser beam.
- Dr. Welch and Dr. van Gemert of the Netherlands are revising their co-edited book, Optical-Thermal Response of Laser-Irradiated Tissue.
Research Interests:
- Optical and thermal interactions of laser light with tissue
- Medical applications of lasers