Mechanical Design of a Laser Ablation Instrument for Surgical Treatments

This study presents the design and development of the mechanism of a prototype hand-held instrument for the safe and precise removal of neoplastic tissue using a novel laser ablation technology with picosecond-pulsed lasers. Traditional surgical techniques for the treatment of early-stage neoplasms have limitations, including the risk of damage to healthy tissue. Laser technology, specifically spiral scanning with picosecond-pulsed lasers, can provide a more targeted approach with less collateral damage. Our group has recently demonstrated the successful ablation of soft tissues with picosecond-pulsed lasers. In this study, we introduce the design of a hand-held device for instrumentation of this technology. The mechanism of the prototype instrument consists of three interlocking parts that work together to generate an Archimedes spiral as an output motion, enabling continuous and uniform delivery of laser energy to the tissue. The prototype instrument is verified to be capable of employing a fibre optic cable carrying a laser light and travelling the tip of the cable to generate the intended spiral motion with a fixed distance of
the tip from a flat surface throughout the spiral, as required for the application of the laser ablation technology.