Neurosurgical Applications

Abstract

The high precision of femtosecond laser ablation makes it an interesting tool for neurosurgical applications. The resection of arbitrary-shaped volumes of brain tissue can be of interest for the treatment of movement disorders. Fundamental studies of bovine brain-tissue ablation have shown precise cutting effects of femtosecond laser pulses with no thermal or structural side effects. If a large number of laser pulses is applied with an appropriate strategy, the quality of the laser cut is comparable to a mechanical cut with a scalpel. A selection of important requirements for the application of these laser pulses with a neurosurgical instrument are presented with respect to navigation, beam delivery, and operation monitoring.

Only the resection capability of femtosecond lasers is discussed in this Chapter. Other applications, like 2-photon fluorescent microscopy or optical coherence tomography (OCT) with femtosecond lasers, which might support neurosurgical interventions, are not included.