Medical

High throughput methods key to modern drug discovery.

The use of arrays (well plates) revolutionized modern drug discovery and particularly screening, providing unique advantages including automation, miniaturization, and high speed. Array plates have gotten denser over the year and today can total as many as 1,536 separate wells, so imaging speed is of paramount importance in order to view all these wells at high resolution on a practical timescale. High performance array readers are used to image these arrays that are also used in academic research. The combination of laser-based confocal imaging and fluorescent markers in these readers now enables individual cells and even sub-cellular components to be mapped with three dimensional (depth) resolution.

Compact and cost-effective visible lasers with plug-and-play functionality have enabled the development of these next generation array readers, where up to five different excitation wavelengths are used of multi-parameter screening. These wavelengths range from violet/UV 405 nm to red (630 nm). In this way, the same reader might automatically map a genetically expressed fluorescent protein, a nuclear label like DAPI, a membrane stain, and a mitochondrial marker, all in the same fast measurement cycle.

Delivering superior results with reduced patient discomfort.

Photocoagulation is the prescribed first-choice intervention method for wet-form macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy, conditions which are estimated to affect up to 250,000 people annually in the U.S. alone. Moreover, this age correlated condition will become even more prevalent with the aging of the baby boom generation.

The Genesis 532 M and 577 M laser family is perfectly suited for photocoagulation treatment of wet-form macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. It provides up to 8000 mW at 532 nm and for the unique yellow wavelength of 577 nm up to 5W. This new yellow wavelength is exclusively available from our proprietary OPSL technology and exactly matched to the main absorption peak of oxygenated hemoglobin. It provides a higher degree of tissue selectivity than any previous laser wavelength. This delivers superior results with reduced patient discomfort.

Myopia, astigmatism, and hyperopia can all be treated effectively with non-thermally damaging and precisely controlled lasers.

Laser vision correction has revolutionized eye surgery. Myopia, astigmatism, and hyperopia can all be treated effectively with the non-thermally damaging and precisely controllable ArF excimer laser beam. This technique has already helped millions of people since the early 1990s to enjoy life without glasses or contact lenses. Coherent is the leading supplier of light sources for this rapidly-expanding industry.

By being the first to engineer extremely reliable, high-repetition-rate excimer lasers specifically for this application, we have become the supplier of choice for many industry leaders in vision correction. Being successful in this industry depends not only on laser performance, but also on the quality of the system. Because laser vision correction is not a medical necessity, it is considered cosmetic surgery and as such it is closely supervised by the FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world. These regulatory bodies require the highest standards in product quality and safety.

All Coherent systems meet or exceed these standards and we continue to maintain and improve our comprehensive ISO 9001:2000 quality-management system.

Today, Coherent is the leading supplier of excimer lasers for refractive error correction systems. At least 35% of all refractive surgeries (more than 1 million procedures annually) are performed with our lasers. We continue to be the industry leader as we supply the next step in refractive surgery technology: customized vision correction.

The diagrams show the principle of cornea reshaping for myopic and hyperopic vision correction and laser application. The accuracy of the ArF excimer laser ablation is essential for the predictability and safety of laser vision correction. Only this laser source enables the precise reshaping in the necessary sub µm range.

Images courtesy of VSDAR, Munich

Summary
Correction of refractive errors (shortsightedness and farsightedness as well as astigmatism) with an excimer laser is a safe and effective procedure which can restore the natural vision of the patients.

Coherent laser bars and systems, with increasingly higher power-spectral density, enables exciting new possibilities.

Unlike the mature technology of conventional MRI, enhanced MRI technology and applications are still evolving and therefore require a flexible and well designed laser to meet the demanding needs of both OEM customers and research laboratories. The latest generation of Coherent semiconductor laser bars and systems, with increasingly higher power-spectral density, enables exciting new possibilities and emerging novel applications for laser induced hyperpolarized noble gas imaging.

By offering the widest variety of wavelength options and allowing the end user to easily exchange different wavelengths in a few minutes, Coherent diode lasers offer the flexibility to pump rubidium, potassium, and other atomic vapors used in the spin exchange process.

Coherent provides a broad range of CO₂, Excimer and OPSL laser solutions to enable effective dermatological procedures.

In the field of dermatology we serve a number of applications. Our CO₂ lasers and semiconductor diode lasers are widely adopted in the areas of tattoo removal and hair removal, and our waveguide technology with CO₂ lasers is the leading technology in the rapidly growing fractional skin resurfacing application. More recently, system builders have begun to use our visible Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers (OPSLs) in the treatment of pigmentation, blood vessels or wrinkles because of its better absorption of yellow wavelengths in melanin compared to legacy green laser solutions.

Breakthrough treatments for psoriasis and vitiligoPsoriasis are being discovered. These are chronic, recurring skin conditions with no known cure. It produces red, scaly skin plaques that causes discomfort and disfigurement. It is the second most common skin disorder in the United States, Europe and Countries with little sun exposure. The cost for conventional treatment approaches such as phototherapy (broadband UVB, PUVA), topical and systemic medication sum up to high expenses and promise only temporary relief.

Several large multicenter clinical trials have demonstrated the success of a new 308 nm laser therapy to treat the symptoms of Psoriasis. A beam generated by an excimer laser is aimed precisely at the involved skin without exposing normal skin, reducing the risks of conventional phototherapy such as photoaging.

In contrast to traditional treatments first results are visible after only a few treatments and they promise to be long-lasting, symptoms disappearing for 6 or even more than 12 months. Most patients heal in between 6 and 12 sessions, vastly reducing the number of required treatments and increasing compliance.

Recently introduced the new laser treatment is now revolutionizing the psoriasis therapy. Patients with small plaques (up to 35cm²) can be treated within one minute, for patients with larger lesions and dark skin types the treatment may take 5 to 15 minutes.

For the first time a quick and effective treatment for psoriasis can be offered, ending patient and doctor frustration. The intense, narrow band 308 nm radiation of the XeCl excimer laser has shown to be very beneficial for the treatment of vitiligo and leukoderma as well.

(Photos courtesy of Dr. H.M. Ockenfels, Hanau, http://www.laserzentrum-rhein-main.de)