November 19, 2007, Petaluma, CA and New Brunswick, NJ--Raydiance has entered into an innovative collaboration with Rutgers University and the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF), the largest tissue bank in the United States, to improve the science of dermal tissue processing.
In a first-of-its-kind test, tissue engineers will utilize a new type of laser developed on the Raydiance Ultrashort Pulse laser platform to maximize the transplants processed from donated dermal tissue. As part of this process, the collaboration will explore new ways to use the transformational power and precision of the Raydiance laser, which can instantly vaporize material without heat or residual damage at very precise scales, down to a resolution of several microns.
The collaboration involves MTF as the project sponsor, Rutgers as the center for developing innovative tissue processing approaches and Raydiance as the core laser technology provider. Experts from all three parties will work towards providing more advanced technology that results in less expensive and faster solutions for those in need of skin transplants for burn, complicated hernia repair, and reconstructive procedures.
"Having worked with lasers for years, the Raydiance laser platform is one hundred times more powerful than anything I have ever used before," said Zhixiong (James) Guo, principal investigator for Rutgers University. "Not only can it separate skin more precisely and effectively, but also it has the unique capability to decontaminate the surface of soft tissue. If our tests prove successful, we will be able to disrupt and reinvent dermal tissue processing as we know it. This is great news for burn victims as well as those suffering from cancer, degenerative joint disease, arthritis and other skin trauma."
According to Bruce Stroever, president and CEO of MTF, more than 900,000 Americans receive tissue transplants each year, but many more are in need. He said MTF believes the Raydiance technology has the potential to process human tissue much more efficiently, increasing the supply of scarce dermal tissues.
The initial phase of the project will focus on demonstrating the feasibility of USP laser processing of donor skin in the following areas:
--Separation of donor skin layers - Develop non-invasive laser-ablation methods to separate the skin's dermal and epidermal layers to improve and increase the usability and viability of limited donor tissues.
--Surface decontamination – Develop non-intrusive sterilization techniques on donor skin and tendons to minimize collateral tissue damage while effectively removing viral or bacterial contamination.
--Removal of unwanted hairs - Develop a laser destruction method to effectively remove unwanted hair from donor tissue with minimal collateral tissue damage.
"The Raydiance USP laser platform is unlocking disruptive innovation across a range of industries, from materials science to next generation surgery to genomics," said Scott Davison, president of Raydiance. "The unique challenges inherent in the way tissue is recovered today makes this is an excellent development category for our laser, one that truly plays to the strengths of Raydiance technology."