Fraunhofer aims for better surgical laser

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes for Laser Technology (ILT) and for Applied Solid State Physics have developed a surgical diode laser for soft tissue surgery that is easier for surgeons to aim.

Laser surgery for snoring involves surgically removing part of the palate and the uvula using a relatively cheap CO₂ laser. But its light cannot be directed along a waveguide, so an articulated arm has to be used to direct the beam to the correct position inside the patient’s mouth, which can prove unwieldy.

The new diode laser has has a wavelength of two micrometers which gets round this problem, while at the same time being compact and inexpensive. A typical diode laser costs less than a third of the price of other types of laser.

‘The laser output can be routed through a very fine light-conducting fibre,’ said ILT project manager Dr Konstantin Boucke. ‘Instead of laboriously positioning a mirror at the correct angle, the surgeon merely has to introduce a flexible optical fibre into the patient’s mouth.’