Rocket Scientist's Laser Scalpel Targets Individual Cells

Rocket Scientist's Laser Scalpel Targets Individual Cells

Using a so-called femtosecond laser, her device emits ultrafast light pulses that don't have enough time to damage surrounding tissue. While femtosecond lasers themselves aren't exactly new—they're standard gear for laser eye surgery—Ben-Yakar is the first to figure out how to make one small enough to be used inside a person. Her blaster fits in a 15-mm surgical probe that shoots the laser's light through a crystal fiber (similar to a fiber-optic strand).

Paired with another fiber for microimaging, it lets surgeons work through a small incision and burn off individual cells in places like the pituitary gland (normally accessed rather awkwardly through the nose) and the spinal cord, which is hidden behind bundles of sensitive neurons and axons.