Technology
OmniGuide offers the BeamPath flexible fiber for CO2 lasers. The CO2 laser offers unparalleled precision and a high degree of control over penetration into soft tissue. These attributes are critical in soft tissue procedures in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, and pulmonology for which the potential damage to delicate untargeted structures and possible rupture of underlying blood vessels is a risk. 20,000 CO2 lasers have been deployed in operating rooms throughout the world. However, until now CO2 lasers have been precluded from minimally invasive surgery due to the absence of a fiber delivery system at their wavelength of operation.
The flexible OmniGuide BeamPath fiber enables, for the very first time, the use of CO2 lasers through flexible or rigid endoscopes. OmniGuide will leverage the installed base of CO2 lasers to provide a BeamPath flexible fiber solution for minimally invasive surgery.
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. The technology was first published in Nature in 2002.
Products
Otology
The OmniGuide® OtoBeam™ flexible fiber coupled to a CO2 laser is an effective and adaptable tool for use in stapedectomy. The effectiveness in the ear and the maneuverability of the fiber make this a useful tool in the otolaryngologist’s armamentarium. By reducing the risk to the inner ear with CO2 laser energy that is less likely to penetrate beyond perilymph, the safety of CO2 laser energy can be coupled with the ease of fiber delivery.
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Flexible Endoscopy
The BeamPath flexible fiber (1.5 meter flexible) is ideal for working through the channel of a flexible scope (fiber scope, T-N-E scope). Procedures can be performed in an office, clinic or procedure room in conjunction with a flexible endoscope. The OmniGuide BeamPath fiber provides precise cutting and coagulation capabilities to the physician for multiple procedures such as tracheal papillomas, tracheal stenosis, laryngeal cysts and benign lesions.
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Endoscopic Nasal, Sinus and Skull Base The BeamPath flexible fiber (1 or 1.5 meter) when placed through a suction hand-piece is an effective device for precise cutting and coagulation around delicate structures, such as nerves and vessels. The minimal penetration and thermal spread of CO2 laser energy provides a cutting and coagulation device that is safe when working around delicate tissue structures.
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Trans-Oral Surgery
Laryngeal surgery typically requires precise cutting and coagulation. The excision of cysts, polyps and lesions are fairly common in laryngeal surgery, and often require the surgeon to work near delicate tissue structures where collateral thermal damage may result in complications. The BeamPath flexible fiber when placed through a suction hand-piece is an effective device for laryngeal lesion cutting and ablation. In contrast to the line of site laser connected to the microscope, the OmniGuide BeamPath flexible fiber is intuitive, placing the cutting and coagulation instrument back into the surgeon’s hand.
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Bronchoscopy
Traditionally, CO2 laser energy has been of limited use in bronchoscopy because the line-of-site CO2 laser systems were not compatible with bronchoscopy procedures. The OmniGuide BeamPath flexible fiber extends the physician’s reach within the body, allowing for CO2 laser use with either flexible or rigid bronchoscopy. Compared to other lasers and energy sources typically utilized, CO2 laser energy is more precise and provides an accurate cutting capability with minimal collateral damage or thermal spread. |
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