OmniGuide, Inc. has developed the BeamPath CO2 laser fiber for minimally invasive microsurgical cutting and coagulation.  The surgical therapies that utilize the OmniGuide technology involve operations in and around delicate tissue structures, particularly endoscopic pituitary procedures, head and neck cancers, laryngeal lesions, airway obstructions and respiratory papillomas.  Physicians report that the OmniGuide fiber offers safe and effective treatment, and extends the physician’s reach within the body to treat complex lesions.

The CO2 laser offers precision and control over soft tissue. These attributes are critical in soft tissue procedures in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, skull base surgery and pulmonology.  During these procedures there is the potential to damage surrounding structures which may lead to additional bleeding, perforations and additional complications.

Over twenty-thousand CO2 lasers have already been placed in operating rooms throughout the world, with most having a rigid articulating arm that provides only a ‘line-of-sight’ capability, limiting the surgeon to procedures where a ‘line-of-site’ from outside the patient’s body is possible.  The OmniGuide fiber is fitted to this existing base of CO2 laser systems, and expands the applicability of the hospital's installed CO2 lasers.  The physician now has the ability to place the OmniGuide laser fiber into the patient’s body under endoscopic (camera) guidance to treat lesions within the skull base, airway and larynx.  The use of CO2 laser energy with endoscopic guidance is a fairly new concept, opening the entire endoscopic market to CO2 laser use.  Endoscopy is utilized for multiple types of procedures including pituitary, sinus, laryngeal and airway therapies.

Some typical procedures performed by the OmniGuide BeamPath fiber include:

1. Endoscopic pituitary
2. Laryngeal and tracheal papillomas
3. Endoscopic sinus
4. Tracheal stenosis
5. Head and neck cancers
6. Airway obstructions

The key to OmniGuide’s technology is a revolutionary photonic bandgap fiber that was originally invented and developed at MIT. The company holds an exclusive license from MIT and has added an extensive portfolio of related US and international patents. OmniGuide continues to have a relationship with MIT.  The technology was first published in Nature in 2002.