The Center for Intelligent Optics (CIO) transforms laser light into a minimally invasive, highly precise and safe surgical scalpel capable of cutting bone. By focusing laser light to a point as small as a needle tip, it concentrates all its energy with exceptional precision. This high precision minimizes damage to surrounding tissue, making it a powerful surgical tool. Developing laser-based scalpels requires extremely accurate targeting. However, using lasers for surgery presents key challenges. Lasers lack the haptic feedback of traditional instruments and have limited natural focus depth. The Center for Intelligent Optics (CIO) focuses on addressing the limitations of using lasers by:

• Extending cutting depth: Recent breakthroughs enable laser cuts in bone deeper than 4 cm, expanding the clinical use of laser surgery.
• Making lasers smarter: We integrate advanced imaging and spectroscopy technologies to maximize both safety and precision.

Our research focuses on specialized lasers and real-time optical systems capable of distinguishing between tissue types and monitoring cutting depth during procedures. These include: laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) for identifying tissue composition, optical coherence tomography (OCT) for real-time 3D imaging, and precision laser ablation for controlled and accurate material removal. In our lab tests on 3D models made of bone, bone marrow, and soft tissue, the system performed with high accuracy. We also explore how to identify and visualize tissues at the same time using OCT in combination with deep learning (AI).

We are aiming for a MIRACLE!