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LASER MICROSCALPEL
Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a laser
"microscalpel" that destroys a single cell while leaving nearby cells
intact, which could improve the precision of surgeries for cancer, epilepsy
and other diseases. The device uses femtosecond lasers, which produce
extremely brief, high-energy light pulses that sear a targeted cell so
quickly and accurately, the lasers' heat has no time to escape and damage
nearby healthy cells.
"You can remove a cell with high precision in 3-D without damaging the cells
above and below it," said mechanical engineering Assistant Professor Adela
Ben-Yakar, who developed the scalpel. Ben-Yakar's laboratory created a
microscope system that uses a tiny, flexible probe to focus laser light
pulses up to 250 microns deep inside tissue, to a spot size smaller than
human cells.
The medical community envisions the lasers being used to accurately destroy
many types of unhealthy material. These include small tumors of the vocal
cord, cancer cells left behind after the removal of solid tumors,
individual cancer cells scattered throughout the brain, or other tissue and
plaque in arteries.
Visit
http://link.abpi.net/1.php?20080701A2 to learn more.
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