OmniGuide, Inc. presented the pre-clinical study results of BeamPath NEURO at the annual conference of the American Academy of Neurological Surgeons in San Diego, California. The study compared BeamPath NEURO to conventional incision methods in neurosurgery. The study was led by Drs. Mark Preul, Robert W. Ryan, and Robert Spetzler of the Neurosurgery Research Laboratory, Barrow Neurological Institute, in Phoenix, Arizona. In the study, surgeons reported that careful studies of incisions produced in live brain tissue with fiber delivered CO2 laser radiation produced precise cuts while minimally effecting adjacent brain tissue when compared with a widely used reference technique.
The study demonstrates that the flexible CO2 laser fiber was easy to use and manipulate under the operating microscope, could be accurately aimed and created precise incisions without the need to touch or manipulate the tissue, said Dr. Preul, Director of the Barrow’s Neurosurgical Research Laboratory. The device also allows surgeons to cut and coagulate with a single instrument. Given the high absorption of the CO2 laser in water, a smaller area of tissue is affected as deeper incisions are made which indicates that the BeamPath NEURO could be a valuable new tool added to the neurosurgical armamentarium.
The surgeons can perform delicate cutting and coagulation with minimal thermal tissue damage using BeamPath fibers. The BeamPath fiber is based on breakthrough fiber technology developed at MIT and exclusively licensed to OmniGuide. The company manufactures the world’s first flexible fibers for CO2 laser surgery
The study conducted by surgeons from the Barrow Neurological Institute, a world renowned medical center for brain and spine surgery, provides further validation of the safety and efficacy of the BeamPath fiber in neurosurgery. The ability to precisely and hemostatically cut in the brain while minimizing loss of precious brain tissue has a real potential for improving brain tumor removal efficacy, said Yoel Fink, president and CEO of OmniGuide. Since the launch of the BeamPath NEURO, we’ve seen strong demand for our technology and it is becoming more widely available to a new patient population that will benefit significantly.