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A Message from the Chair
The Association of Laser Users’ (AILU) Medical Special Interest Group was set up in November 2007 and was initially developed with great enthusiasm by AILU’s Technology Officer Anna O’Neill with support from the Photonics KTN. Its aim is to serve the needs of clinicians, researchers, engineers and equipment and service providers involved in the development and use of laser-based medical equipment, and/or in the use of lasers in the manufacture of devices for applications in medicine and biology in general.
Laser processing has been an enabling technology for the development of many important groups of medical devices, including the welding of heart pacemaker enclosures, the drilling of polymer tubes and related components. More recently coronary stent cutting and the welding of polymer components have been major application areas.
Because of the long relationship between laser technology and the manufacturing of medical devices, many of AILU’s members have some experience in this area. One aim of this group is to call on this experience to provide a specific resource for AILU and KTN members to discover and confirm the benefits of laser techniques in medical device manufacture. In addition, the formation of the Medical Group provides an opportunity for AILU to develop areas of medical interest and I am keen to see this expansion. Lasers have long been trailed and employed as a direct medical tool. Clearly it can have a role as a scalpel replacement. Joining of biological tissues has also been demonstrated. Applications such as Photodynamic Therapy and Cosmetic Treatments have put lasers into the hands of the surgeons and clinicians. Corrective eye surgery is now a high street procedure. In all these applications there are overlaps in the power and wavelength of lasers with those used by the manufacturing- based founders of AILU.
We have also seen the development of ex vivo laser treatments and diagnosis. It has been reported that exposure of viruses to femtosecond laser light can kill them while leaving large cellular structures unharmed. Optical tweezer systems are used to manipulate cells and DNA for diagnosis and forensic purposes. The same lasers and systems have application in engineering.
The Association of Laser Users has been very successful in attracting organisations involved in the use of lasers for industrial manufacture and, by building on synergies in technology, process and/or practice, the Medical Group is helping expand networking activities and the exchange of know-how that are central to the aims of the Association. The growth of the Medical Group is already strengthening the Association, primarily within the UK Laser industry, and the Group is beginning to developing its own agenda for action, based on typical core activities – standards, safety, research, training and supply chain issues, but specifically aimed at medical, clinical and medical device sector. I am committed to the growth of members and activities within the group, supported by the resources of AILU, at the same time reinforcing the position of AILU as the association of choice for laser users in the UK. I look forward to meeting new members and being introduced to new and exciting develops in this field.
Martin Sharp, Medical Group Chair
Martin Sharp is Leader of the Photonics in Engineering Research Group at Liverpool John Moores University