Abstract
The high precision of femtosecond laser ablation makes it an interesting tool for neurosurgical applications. The resection of arbitrary-shaped volumes of brain tissue can be of interest for the treatment of movement disorders. Fundamental studies of bovine brain-tissue ablation have shown precise cutting effects of femtosecond laser pulses with no thermal or structural side effects. If a large number of laser pulses is applied with an appropriate strategy, the quality of the laser cut is comparable to a mechanical cut with a scalpel. A selection of important requirements for the application of these laser pulses with a neurosurgical instrument are presented with respect to navigation, beam delivery, and operation monitoring.
Only the resection capability of femtosecond lasers is discussed in this Chapter. Other applications, like 2-photon fluorescent microscopy or optical coherence tomography (OCT) with femtosecond lasers, which might support neurosurgical interventions, are not included.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Götz, M. Neurosurgical Applications. In: Dausinger, F., Lubatschowski, H., Lichtner, F. (eds) Femtosecond Technology for Technical and Medical Applications. Topics in Applied Physics, vol 96. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39848-6_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39848-6_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-20114-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39848-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive