Dual-Functionality Laser System for High-Contrast Diagnostic Imaging and Precision Surgery

We propose to develop a laser system that provides a new surgical paradigm for precise tumor detection and localization, and ultra-precise excision of lesions down to the cellular level, with little or no damage to adjacent tissues. This laser system will operate in either of two modes: diagnostic and treatment. In diagnostic mode, the laser output will be in the deep-red and near-infrared spectral regions, to enable opto-acoustic tomographic imaging, which permits the discrimination and localization of metastatic tumors. In treatment mode, the laser will operate at mid-infrared wavelengths, in a particular spectral region that has been demonstrated to be uniquely effective in removal of tissue with little collateral damage. In conjunction with the laser system development, our Research Institution Partner, Vanderbilt University and Medical Center (Nashville, TN), will perform studies on various tissue samples using a mid-IR laser developed by Light Age, and installed at Vanderbilt. The studies performed by Vanderbilt in the Phase I effort will complement the aspects of the program related to mid-IR laser development by providing a characterization of the performance of the laser by means of measurement of tissue ablation rates and through histological analysis of collateral damage in a variety of tissue samples.