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Introduction to the fiber laser scalpel
A team of researchers from Taiwan and Russia presented a new scalpel based on fiber laser technology. The fiber laser scalpel is twice as thin as conventional ones. Taking into account the fact that standard medical scalpels have different shapes for specific tasks, the new laser system provides numerous benefits.
The researchers have developed a scalpel based on a fiber laser system that allows for decreasing its thickness by half. The researchers claim that the created curvilinear shape opens numerous opportunities for fiber laser applications in medical fields.
Design and innovation in the laser scalpel
The team from Taiwan and Russia produces a laser beam “blade” applied in a medical scalpel with a given curved shape employing a photonic “hook”. There are laser beam scalpels only with an axisymmetric focus area, that is, their blade is cylindrical.
Another blade shape enables the researcher to open new applications of the laser system in medicine. This fiber laser scalpel is two times thinner than the cylindrical shape. Therefore, specific tasks require various shapes of standard surgical scalpels.
Operating principle of the fiber laser scalpel
It is possible to cut or remove tissue with a scalpel based on fiber laser technology. The operating principle is based on the laser beam with increased temperature in a limited range up to 400°С. Thus, the fiber laser system burns out the beam, while tiny blood vessels along the cut edges are sealed.
The fiber laser scalpel provides incredible advantages; for example, the incisions made by it are pretty thin, and the radiation is not dangerous. The researchers have succeeded in bending the laser beam by the installation of an amplitude or phase mask at the end of the optical fiber.
The mask in the fiber laser system is regarded as a small plate made of metal or dielectric material, for example, glass. The laser beam energy inside the optical fiber is redistributed by the mask, leading to a curved part of radiation localization at the end of the fiber (the so-called photonic hook).
Testing and results
The fiber laser system has already been tested and demonstrated that the curved blade has a length of up to 3mm. The thickness of the laser beam blade reaches 500 microns (slightly bigger than the diameter of a human hair). Test results make the fiber laser scalpel perfect for surgeries.