Dynamics of picosecond laser ablation for surgical treatment of colorectal cancer

Abstract

Endoluminal surgery for the treatment of colorectal neoplasia is typically carried out using electrocautery tools which imply limited precision and the risk of harm through collateral thermal damage to the adjacent healthy tissue. As a potential alternative, we present the successful colonic epithelial laser ablation by means of picosecond laser pulses. Laser ablation studies performed in ex-vivo colon tissue result in cavities with comparable thickness to early stage colorectal cancers. The corresponding histology sections exhibit only minimal collateral damage to the surrounding tissue and the depth of the ablation can be controlled precisely by means of the pulse energy. High-speed imaging has been used for the first time to visualize picosecond laser ablation of cancerous tissue in a clinically relevant model. This information was correlated with histopathology and optical surface profilometry revealing the dynamic nature of the laser tissue interaction and the need for temporal or spatial separation of pulses for optimum efficacy with regards to tissue removal. Overall, the application of picosecond laser pulses to ablate endoluminal bowel lesions demonstrates significantly improved precision and reduced thermal damage to the adjacent tissue in comparison to conventional procedures and hence will enable more precise surgical treatment of cancers.

Ultrafast laser surgery probe for sub-surface ablation to enable biomaterial injection in vocal folds

“…Problems arise during injection into the superficial lamina propria (SLP), as the injected biomaterial tends to infiltrate around rather than into the stiff scar tissue. Thus, there is a need for a method to precisely localize biomaterials within the scarred SLP while avoiding any additional scar formation.The ultrafast laser ablation process relies on rapid multiphoton absorption at the focal plane, resulting in sub-focal volume energy confinement and minimal thermal damage to surrounding tissues [15][16][17][18] . Such a high degree of spatial and thermal confinement enables precise material removal inside bulk tissues.…”

“…The ultrafast laser ablation process relies on rapid multiphoton absorption at the focal plane, resulting in sub-focal volume energy confinement and minimal thermal damage to surrounding tissues [15][16][17][18] . Such a high degree of spatial and thermal confinement enables precise material removal inside bulk tissues.…”

Coatings Functionalization via Laser versus Other Deposition Techniques for Medical Applications: A Comparative Review

“…Laser ablation is a powerful and promising technique [67] for a wide range of applications, from biomedicine (tissue excision) [68], to characterization of biomaterials in analytical chemistry (assisted-matrix laser desorption ionization, MALDI) [69,70] and the structuring of polymers in the field of microelectronics [67], in addition to the preservation of works of art [71].…”

Spatial Control of Neuronal Adhesion on Diamond-Like Carbon

“…Laser ablation was a popular route to produce novel thin films in the early 2000s (Ashfold et al, 2004) but has also has been used for applications as diverse as the fabrication of wearable microelectronic devices (Green Marques et al, 2019) and the removal of living tissue in various surgical procedures (Beck et al, 2020). Pulsed laser ablation using femtosecond pulsed Ti-Sapphire lasers has also been demonstrated as a method for fabrication of structured thin polymer films supported on substrate materials (Ibrahim et al, 2007;Doyle et al, 2009;Jeon et al, 2011).…”