It sounds more like something you'd see in
X-Men than on an actual operating table in real life, but a team at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a way to heal surgical incisions with
laser light. Christened laser-bonded healing, the methodology has been studied for years, but up until now, scientists have found it impossible to find the perfect balance of heat required to coax tissue into healing itself back together. Irene Kochevar described the process as "nano suturing," as diminutive collagen fibers are woven together in a way that the old-fashioned needle-and-thread method simply can't match. The benefits, as you can likely imagine, are numerous: less scarring, faster recovery, the potential for fewer infections and bragging rights that you were struck with lasers and survived. Still, the procedure is far from becoming commonplace in ORs, given that the dermatological procedure hasn't even been submitted to the FDA yet. 'Til then, it's up to you and Wolverine to figure things out.
posted February 15th 2009 1:01AM
this is great news
Are you my more excitable alter-ego?
DANMANIA.
Reminds me of this other great news:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/25/peak-plasmablade-electrosurgery-scalpel-gets-fda-approval/
http://peak.odacms.com/video/plasmablade.cfm
Sounds scarry - I saw Logan's Run.
the funny thing is that wickedlasers has been advertising this as a "feature" (with the obligatory disclaimer) on their higher powered lasers for quite some time now...
X-Men? Wrong Patrick Stewart vehicle. This sounds like medical science straight out of Star Trek: The Next Generation.
My thoughts exactly. This is straight up Star Trek technology right here. How many times did we see someone with a wound of one sort or another only to be healed good as new in a few seconds by a wide-angle laser?
Yeah, this is purely another technology developed and brought from the universe of Star Trek.
I am absolutely impressed they finally figured this out.
What's next? The multi-purpose Tricorder?
Ya, it is amazing.... when ST TNG was on , most of the tech we seen was purely fictional (tho theoretically possible, cept transporters)
Since then, you think that we can have ST like tech before the 22nd century, sans the nuclear world I hope.
Exactly. Dermal regenerator ftw.
I'm waiting for the Holodeck myself.
The only thing from Star Trek we will definitely all have in the next 50 years is a wrinkly forehead.
What are you talking about? I'm sure most of your readers have been struck by lasers and lived to tell about it. Hell! Some may have inflicted the strikes themselves. Sure, there could have been one or two who have fallen to "crotch dot," but I highly doubt that. So I have to close with, no one has to wait until this gets "approved" somewhere before they can say, "I survived a laser strike!" It's already a possibility, and most people probably are already survivors.
I hope they keep the work up 'cause this is great news.
"You expect me to die?"
"No Mr. Bond, I expect you to make a full recovery!"
I love you for that.
I lol'd
Made my day!
I'm sure this will be available just in time for my first face lift, can't wait.
Can't wait to be able to pack a dermal regenerator on my next hiking trip. Next I just need a tricorder and a phasor for those pesky bears... much easier than lugging around a rifle.
Really though, its awesome to see this. Hopefully we will continue to advance to a true regeneration type device one day where cuts can be completley healed in a matter of seconds.
Straight from surgery to the burn ward.
Actually the laser isn't burning anything. The light is just activating a dye previously applied to the wound.
AMazing.
Wasn't this in Starship Troopers?
Healed by lasers.
We are living the future.
I for one, welcome it. :)
Shouldn't it be 'laser-bound'?
No one else has, so I will.
Those lasers need sharks under them; and do they go Pew Pew Pew?
No one else has, so I will.
Those lasers need sharks under them; and do they go Pew Pew Pew?
Oh weak. Double post. Sorry.
Who needs the FDA?
If I recall, the FDA has approved tons of pharmaceutical drugs that later turned out to cause severe side-effects, and even in some cases, death.
What a joke that administration is...
The FDA has also approved many safe drugs that have saved millions of lives...
... allegedly
Cool, I work there (at Mass General)!
Pew pew
Glad to know that surgery just got more badass.