OmniGuide fiber delivers laser energy in first minimally-invasive human medical procedure

Cambridge, MA--OmniGuide Communications announced today the successful completion of the first minimally-invasive procedure in a patient using a hollow-core cylindrical photonic bandgap optical fiber to deliver CO₂ laser energy.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Jamie Koufman, the director of the Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders of Wake Forest University at the Voice Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The patient, who was diagnosed with recurrent respiratory papillomas (RRP), suffered from near-total obstruction of the larynx (voice box) and trachea (the breathing tube that joins the throat and the lung). The patient's growths in the larynx and trachea were cleared using a CO₂ laser delivered endoscopically with an OmniGuide Fiber. The patient was awake during the procedure. Other than spraying a numbing spray in the throat and trachea, the patient required no anesthesia.

CO₂ lasers have been used to treat RRP for many years. In the past, these procedures could only be performed in the operating room, with the patient under general anesthesia. The OmniGuide Fiber allows use of the same CO₂ laser technology, but in a clinical setting instead of in the operating room. With the OmniGuide Fiber used to deliver the laser energy through a flexible Pentax endoscope, the patient treated by Dr. Koufman was able to go home immediately following the procedure. FDA clearance for the OmniGuide Fiber is expected in early 2005.