Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University developed a "microscalpel", an experimental system based on a super fast laser and something called "two-photon fluorescence microscopy", to zap individual cells while preserving those around the target area. To develop the miniature laser-surgery system, Ben-Yakar [Adela Ben-Yakar, mechanical engineering Assistant Professor at UT Austin --ed.] worked with co-author Olav Solgaard at Stanford University's Electrical Engineering Department to incorporate a miniaturized scanning mirror. Ben-Yakar and her graduate student Chris Hoy, another co-author, also used a novel fiber optic cable that can withstand intense light pulses traveling from an infrared, femtosecond laser. To make the intensity more manageable, they stretched the light pulses into longer, weaker pulses for traveling through the fiber. Then they used the fiber's unique properties to reconstruct the light into more intense, short light pulses before entering the tissue. For the study, Ben-Yakar directed laser light at breast cancer cells in three-dimensional biostructures that mimic the optical properties of breast tissue. She has since studied laboratory-grown, layered cell structures that mimic skin tissue and other tissues. Ben-Yakar is also investigating the use of nanoparticles to focus the light energy on targeted cells. In research published last year, she demonstrated that gold nanoparticle ...
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Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin and Stanford University developed a "microscalpel", an experimental system based on a super fast laser and something called "two-photon fluorescence microscopy", to zap individual cells while preserving those around the target area. To develop the miniature laser-surgery system, Ben-Yakar [Adela Ben-Yakar, mechanical engineering Assistant Professor at UT Austin --ed.] worked with co-author Olav Solgaard at Stanford University's Electrical Engineering Department to incorporate a miniaturized scanning mirror. Ben-Yakar and her graduate student Chris Hoy, another co-author, also used a novel fiber optic cable that can withstand intense light pulses traveling from an infrared, femtosecond laser. To make the intensity more manageable, they stretched the light pulses into longer, weaker pulses for traveling through the fiber. Then they used the fiber's unique properties to reconstruct the light into more intense, short light pulses before entering the tissue. For the study, Ben-Yakar directed laser light at breast cancer cells in three-dimensional biostructures that mimic the optical properties of breast tissue. She has since studied laboratory-grown, layered cell structures that mimic skin tissue and other tissues. Ben-Yakar is also investigating the use of nanoparticles to focus the light energy on targeted cells. In research published last year, she demonstrated that gold nanoparticle ...