Femtolaser

(the laser that can produce quadrillions of pulses of light per second, creating a spot on a cell that is as hot as the sun)

Femtosecond lasers

Soon surgeons may exchange their 18th century scalpels, or cutting tools, for a laser. Femtosecond lasers are the fastest in the world and are capable of producing energy pulses that last a millionth of a billionth of a second and can be focused into beams less than one hundredth the diameter of a human hair.

This makes them ideal for operating on subcellular structures; such as, the axon, the long tail by which a neuron sends information to its neighbors and which are far too small for even the finest robotic surgical hands to maneuver.

A femtolaser has been used to sever the axons that control muscles in nematode worms resulting in the immediate loss of the ability to wiggle backward; although they regenerated about half their axons, and some worms regained full movement within 24 hours.

The ability to operate on individual brain cells without killing them in the process could allow scientists to study how the cells regenerate and might lead to better treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The femtolaser has the potential to take neurosurgery way beyond the limits of its current scalpel tool procedures.

—Excerpts compiled from
"Nurse, pass the femtolaser" by Andrew Rosenblum in Popular Science;
October, 2007; page 52.

See the definitions below for the words shown in bold letters above:

axon
An extension of a nerve cell, similar in shape to a thread, that transmits impulses outward from the cell body.

This makes them ideal for operating on subcellular structures; such as, the axon, the long tail by which a neuron sends information to its neighbors and which are far too small for even the finest robotic surgical hands to maneuver.

energy pulses
Powers that are translated into motion and causing physical changes of rhythmic waves.

"Femtosecond lasers are the fastest in the world and are capable of producing energy pulses that last a millionth of a billionth of a second and can be focused into beams less than one hundredth the diameter of a human hair."

femtolaser
Femto is a combining form used in naming units of measurement to indicate one-thousand-million-millionth (10-15) of the laser unit.

A laser is a device that transfers light of various frequencies into an extremely intense, small, and nearly nondivergent beam of monochromatic radiation in the visible or invisible spectrum, with all the waves in phase; capable of mobilizing immense heat and power when focused at close range, lasers act on tissues by photocoagulation and photodisruption and are used in surgery, in diagnosis, and in physiological studies.

"A femtolaser has been used to sever the axons that control muscles in nematode worms resulting in the immediate loss of the ability to wiggle backward; although they regenerated about half their axons, and some worms regained full movement within 24 hours."

Femtosecond lasers
Devices producing energy pulses that utilize the ability of some substances to absorb electromagnetic energy and to re-radiate it as a highly focused beam of synchronized single-wavelength radiation.

"Femtosecond lasers are the fastest in the world and are capable of producing energy pulses that last a millionth of a billionth of a second and can be focused into beams less than one hundredth the diameter of a human hair."

neurodegenerative diseases
1. A varied assortment of central nervous system disorders characterized by gradual and progressive loss of neural tissue.
2. Hereditary and sporadic conditions which are characterized by progressive nervous system dysfunction. These disorders are often associated with atrophy of the affected central or peripheral nervous system structures.

"The ability to operate on individual brain cells without killing them in the process could allow scientists to study how the cells regenerate and might lead to better treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's."

neurosurgery
A surgical specialty concerned with the treatment of diseases and disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral and sympathetic nervous system.

"The femtolaser has the potential to take neurosurgery way beyond the limits of its current scalpel tool procedures. "

regenerate
To return from a state of decline to a revitalized state, or cause something to do this.

"The ability to operate on individual brain cells without killing them in the process could allow scientists to study how the cells regenerate and might lead to better treatments for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's."

robotic surgical hands
Robotic surgery is the performance of operative procedures with the assistance of robotic technology. It allows great precision and is used for remote-control and minimally invasive procedures.

Current systems consist of computer-controlled electromechanical devices that work in response to controls manipulated by the surgeon.

"This makes them ideal for operating on subcellular structures; such as, the axon, the long tail by which a neuron sends information to its neighbors and which are far too small for even the finest robotic surgical hands to maneuver."

sever
To cut through something or to cut something off, or to be cut through or off.

"A femtolaser has been used to sever the axons that control muscles in nematode worms resulting in the immediate loss of the ability to wiggle backward . . . ."

subcellular structures
Relating to the component parts of cells consisting of arrangements or formations of the tissues, organs, or other parts of an organism.

"This makes them ideal for operating on subcellular structures; such as, the axon . . . ."

See more topics of interest at this INDEX of Words at Work in the Media.