Novel Laser System Comes to the Aid of Surgeons to Drill Through Skull

Surgeons may need to relieve pressure on the brain by drilling burr holes through the skull using a trephine in the case of brain injuries and strokes. Performing burr hole craniotomies still happens to be a manual cranking operation, which is quite injury prone and can even cause meningitis.

Researchers at Fraunhofer Institutes for Photonic Microsystems, Laser Technology, and Integrated Circuits have come out with a novel laser system that can be a safer option.

The surgeon can use this new system which has advanced mirrors and a femto-second laser to enable guidance to a surgeon while cutting beam. This can help the surgeon gain access to the skull without causing injury.

An articulated mirror arm is used to guide the laser beam into the hand piece.

The core consists of two new types of micro-mirrors. The cranial vault incision is made by the first one and any further adjustments to position are made by the second mirror.

 “Whereas the silicon panel in conventional micro-mirrors is mirrored by an aluminum layer measuring a hundred nanometers thick, we applied highly-reflective electric layers to the silicon substrate,” scientists explained.

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Source-Medindia