Lasers have become a standard feature of surgical interventions, be it to alleviate the breathing difficulties of snorers or to treat prostate problems.
A new diode laser is ideally suited for use in soft tissue surgery. It has the advantage of being compact and inexpensive.
Snoring is not only inconvenient but also strenuous. The only solution for many sufferers is to undergo medical treatment that involves surgically removing part of the palate and the uvula. The instruments used to perform this operation often rely on a relatively cheap CO2 laser. But its light cannot be directed along a waveguide, and so an articulated arm has to be used to direct the beam to the correct position inside the patient’s mouth – not a very convenient way of working.
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institutes for Laser Technology ILT in Aachen and for Applied Solid State Physics IAF in Freiburg have now developed a diode laser of a suitable wavelength that allows this problem to be overcome. “The laser output can be routed through a very fine light-conducting fiber,” says 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 fiber into the patient’s mouth.”