Image courtesy Ben-Yakar Group, University of Texas at Austin. An image taken with the probe’s two-photon fluorescence microscope shows cells in a 70-micrometer thick piece of vocal cord from a pig. “We are developing the next-generation clinical tools for microsurgery,” says Ben-Yakar. Ben-Yakar’s group is currently collaborating on two projects: treating scarred vocal folds with a probe tailored for the larynx, and nanosurgery on brain neurons and synapses and cellular structures such as organelles. These include repairing the vocal cords or removing small tumors in the spinal cord or other tissues. Tabletop femtosecond lasers are already in use for eye surgery, but Ben-Yakar sees many more applications inside the body. To hold the optical components in alignment, the team designed a miniaturized case fabricated using 3-D printing, in which solid objects are created from a digital file by laying down successive layers of material. The optics consist of three parts: commercial lenses a specialized fiber to deliver the ultrashort laser pulses from the laser to the microscope and a 750-micrometer MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical system) scanning mirror. The new system is five times smaller than the team’s first prototype and boosts the imaging resolution by 20 percent, says Ben-Yakar. “The probe has proven that it’s functional and feasible and can be commercially.” “All the optics we tested can go into a real endoscope,” says Adela Ben-Yakar of the University of Texas at Austin, the project’s principal investigator. Images courtesy Ben-Yakar Group, University of Texas at Austin. The circumference is 9.6 millimeters and the length is 23 millimeters.
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The packaged endoscope overlaid with the optical system. The entire endoscope probe package, which is thinner than a pencil and less than an inch long (9.6 millimeters in circumference and 23 millimeters long), can fit into large endoscopes, such as those used for colonoscopies. Using an imaging technique known as “two-photon fluorescence,” this specialized microscope relies on infrared light that penetrates up to one millimeter into living tissue, which allows surgeons to target individual cells or even smaller parts such as cell nuclei. The laser is coupled with a mini-microscope that provides the precise control necessary for highly delicate surgery. These bursts are powerful, but are so fleeting that they spare surrounding tissue. The device, which was engineered with off-the-shelf parts, includes a laser capable of generating pulses of light a mere 200 quadrillionths of a second in duration.
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The researchers will present their work at this year’s Conference on Lasers and Electro Optics (CLEO: 2012) in San Jose, Calif., taking place May 6-11. To help shift this balance in the patient’s favor, a team of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin has developed a small, flexible endoscopic medical device fitted with a femtosecond laser “scalpel” that can remove diseased or damaged tissue while leaving healthy cells untouched. Strauss and Coleman point out that in comparison with traditional blade surgery, oral laser surgery allows for better visibility with a bloodless field and more precise tissue removal, without harming tissue that surrounds the lesion.A photograph of the 9.6-millimeter probe housing (right) next to the housing of the earlier prototype 18-mm probe (left) showing the reduction in packaged probe size. Many surgeons maintain that the CO 2 laser coagulates blood and lymphatic vessels at the surgical margins – and this brings down the amount of hematogenous and lymphatic seeding and potential metastasis and reduces recurrence rates. Oral laser surgery provides excellent uniform results and can be successfully used in a wide variety of procedures.ĭue to the aforementioned advantages, the CO 2 laser is well suited for treating premalignant lesions, such as leukoplakias, as well as cancerous and aggressive benign tumors of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity and lips by total excision in cutting mode or ablation (performed on premalignant forms).
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There are numerous uses for lasers in OMS. CO 2 lasers not only enhance the current surgical options for treatment, but they have also expanded the scope of practice.