Using lasers to suture (weld) skin!

Hey everybody,

just saw this on engadget->

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/22088/

pretty cool stuff. Looks like a 532nm... ;D

cheers,
kernelpanic

About 5 years back when I knew nothing about lasers that I saw a WL advertisement that showed what their lasers could do. You know, like it would list 50 mW for popping balloons, 100 for matches, etc. I recall it saying something about healing wounds.

Although WL is utter crap, I'm sure that laser healing will become used more often in our world.

"He notes that the technology must still prove itself, and he isn't yet convinced that the benefits will offset the costs of photochemical dyes and laser equipment, which are far pricier than a needle and thread"

ha.....you could build that crap for like $50, just get a pointer and a cheap aluminum stand...and you'd have a portable version...for like $100-$200 dollars (and whatever that dye costs.)

but you know if they make this, the equipment is gonna be $100,000. and it's going to be an extra couple of thousand dollars to your medical bill.......

i hate my country so much.... crooked bastards.

VERY interesting though. wish they had more specs on it....like the laser power output, and the dye they use.....i wouldn't mind trying it myself......
i'd even be willing to give myself a little cut just to try nano suturing it back together

nice thread

Mohrenberg said:

ha.....you could build that crap for like $50, just get a pointer and a cheap aluminum stand...and you'd have a portable version...for like $100-$200 dollars (and whatever that dye costs.)...


...i'd even be willing to give myself a little cut just to try nano suturing it back together

Click to expand...

I'm sure the optics one would need are a bit more advanced than what we're used to. It sounds like one would need to keep the skin exactly at the focal point of the laser. Also, suturing without burning could be an issue as well.

I'd grab a couple of bunnies before you tried it on yourself...  :-?

Poor bunnies!  :'(

Cheers,
kernelpanic
[edit] p.s.- Found the dye. $133 for 10 grams.-->
http://www.prestomart.com/store.php...eller=drugsdepotnet&pd=1889438&disp=info#INFO

The bad news- It's a prescription drug...
Note to self- Find crooked doctor and Someone who'll sell me bunnies, 'No questions asked.'
[/edit]

doctors are easy to manipulate you just give them the symptoms and reasons to give it to you....it will even make them feel about it since they think they thought of it by themself

well, assuming mohrenberg lives in the USA, i would say that we all dislike what capatilism does to ppl on some level. just look where it got our economy. if only there were more morally straight capatilists....

I suppose the interesting part of the whole story is the dye they use.

As i read it, the process works more like glueing 2 pieces to eachother using UV-activated resin then like melting them together using heat.

I'm sure the optics one would need are a bit more advanced than what we're used to. It sounds like one would need to keep the skin exactly at the focal point of the laser.

Click to expand...

That part of it looks quite simple in the picture: its just a frame that works like a spacer to keep the distance constant to some degree. I doubt you'd want to be in the exact focal point of a green laser with any power - 100 mW will give you a nasty sting when focussed pinpoint!

It's almost exactly like UV resin... but, in either case it's not melting it, rather creating a polymerization reaction where the light gives enough free energy to cause the molecules to react and bond to each other, which typically doesn't require a lot of power.  In the case of the body, collagen is a long chain of polypeptides (protein) and is naturally created by polymerization (as many things in the body do), so having something that will cause that reaction without the body's help is very useful.  It's a brilliant idea and the guy that created it definitely deserves some recognition for taking two things that a hospital (at least some bigger ones) already probably has and using them in a completely novel way.

The big deal about this, as mentioned in the article, is much tighter/secure sutures.  This not only produces less scarring, but really the biggest thing is prevention of infection.  One of the biggest problem with surgery is infection because even though we go through great lengths to maintain a sterile field during, afterward the patient is just put back out into the (very) non-sterile world with only those sutures protecting your insides from the countless organisms just waiting for a chance to get in.  And, although it may be surprising, hospitals are one of the easiest places to get an infection (called nosocomial infections), so anything that can make you less susceptible to getting one is certainly worthwhile.

You also have the added benefit, like they mentioned, of being able to suture previously difficult things like nerves and delicate areas like your eye which do not take well to regular suturing.  If you ever have to have eye surgery where they have to suture the side of your eyeball, you'd probably be very happy to rather have them just smear a little dye on there and shine a laser versus take a sharp needle to it and sew it shut.  

The only problem would be the capability of the light to penetrate tissues to bond the deeper areas.  Of course, you could find a wavelength of light that does have good (or better) penetration then also find a compound that will act similarly using that wavelength light, but that may be quite a challenge... at least now we know what to do and have exactly what is needed, the only issue is access (that and FDA approval).