Liability and laser alignment guides

[Kyle Michael Douglass]

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Hi all,
I've got a rather unusual question (at least so far as this forum is
concerned) and would like some feedback. I'm working on a section of a
paper in which there will be directions for the alignment of a
microscope illumination system. The system is for an inverted optical
microscope and the alignment is most easily performed using the laser
that is already in place. During the alignment, the free-space beam will
at one point be traveling vertically relative to the table.

Let's assume someone reads the paper and decides to follow the guide to
build and align their own system. If, hypothetically speaking, this
person lasers him or herself in the eye to the extent that damage is
done, would I be legally liable for this?

I plan on placing the following warnings in the guide:

- wear appropriate laser safety goggles
- reduce the power of the beam to the lowest possible power where it can
still be seen, using neutral density filters if necessary
- remove all jewelry
- don't allow others into the room during alignment
- ask a safety officer if things are unclear

It's not really an option to exclude the alignment guide because a
reviewer wants it :p

Thanks as always,
Kyle

--
Kyle M. Douglass, PhD
Post-doctoral researcher
The Laboratory of Experimental Biophysics
EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
http://kmdouglass.github.io
http://leb.epfl.ch

[Zdenek Svindrych-2]

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Dear Kyle,
I've never seen any issues with liability in scientific papers. I remember
I've read a line starting "All chemical were purchased from .... and used
without further purification." (or similar) at least thousand times -
without notes such as "don't drink sulphuric acid", "don't drink methanol",
"phalloidin is really, really poisonous", not mentioning human cells,
viruses, cloning, animals, ...

In a scientific paper you want to read about the science, not about
regulatory stuff...

I would just mention laser safety, and if you keep the laser power below 1
mW (and wavelength above 400 nm), no none gets hurt. Note, that you can buy
(at least in Europe) Chinese green laser pointers with 100 mW output (at 532
nm) and probably much more in the IR, if you're lucky. No liability there.

Best, zdenek




---------- Původní zpráva ----------
Od: Kyle Douglass <[hidden email]>
Komu: [hidden email]
Datum: 14. 6. 2016 11:08:22
Předmět: Liability and laser alignment guides

"*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
Post images on http://www.imgur.com and include the link in your posting.
*****

Hi all,
I've got a rather unusual question (at least so far as this forum is
concerned) and would like some feedback. I'm working on a section of a
paper in which there will be directions for the alignment of a
microscope illumination system. The system is for an inverted optical
microscope and the alignment is most easily performed using the laser
that is already in place. During the alignment, the free-space beam will
at one point be traveling vertically relative to the table.

Let's assume someone reads the paper and decides to follow the guide to
build and align their own system. If, hypothetically speaking, this
person lasers him or herself in the eye to the extent that damage is
done, would I be legally liable for this?

I plan on placing the following warnings in the guide:

- wear appropriate laser safety goggles
- reduce the power of the beam to the lowest possible power where it can
still be seen, using neutral density filters if necessary
- remove all jewelry
- don't allow others into the room during alignment
- ask a safety officer if things are unclear

It's not really an option to exclude the alignment guide because a
reviewer wants it :p

Thanks as always,
Kyle

--
Kyle M. Douglass, PhD
Post-doctoral researcher
The Laboratory of Experimental Biophysics
EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
http://kmdouglass.github.io
http://leb.epfl.ch"