A method treating a root canal in a tooth by introducing into the pulp chamber of a tooth and pulsing a laser light into the fluid reservoir so as to disintegrate pulp within the root canal without generation of any significant heat in said liquid fluid so as to avoid elevating the temperature of any of the dentin, tooth, or other adjacent tissue more than about 5″ C.

A catheter system for treating a treatment site within or adjacent to a vessel wall or a heart valve includes an energy source, a balloon, an energy guide, and an electrical analyzer assembly. The energy source generates energy. The balloon is positionable substantially adjacent to the treatment site. The balloon has a balloon wall that defines a balloon interior that receives a balloon fluid. The energy guide is configured to receive energy from the energy source and guide the energy into the balloon interior. The electrical analyzer assembly is configured to monitor a balloon condition during use of the catheter system. The electrical analyzer assembly can include a first electrode, a second electrode, and an impedance detector that is electrically coupled to the first electrode and the second electrode. The impedance detector is configured to detect impedance between the first electrode and the second electrode.

An intracellular delivery system and method are provided. The intracellular delivery system comprises a laser-activated surface and cells positioned at a distance from the laser-activated surface. A laser provided a laser pulse that is used to porate membranes of the cells to deliver or extract cargo from the cells into a liquid surrounding the cells. The method of intracellular delivery comprises positioning a laser-activated surface at a distance from cells and applying a laser pulse from the laser to the surface to porate membranes of the cells to deliver or extract cargo from the cells into a liquid surrounding the cells.

The present disclosure relates generally to the use of medical devices for the treatment of vascular conditions. In particular, the present disclosure provides devices and methods for using laser-induced pressure waves created within a sheath to disrupt intimal and medial calcium within the vasculature.

The invention discloses systems and methods for generation of microfluidic jets providing a tool for very precise and localized delivery of e.g., medicaments. The proposed solution overcomes shortcomings related to miniaturization of a jet injection technology by implementing laser energy as a driving mechanism and optical fibers for its delivery. Solving the step of miniaturization can allow building new tools compatible with minimally invasive surgical techniques, high parallelization of jet injection units or design of new ergonomic injection devices.

The presently disclosed subject matter provides techniques for inducing collagen cross-linking in human tissue, such as cartilage, by inducing ionization of the water contained in the tissue to produce free radicals that induce chemical cross-linking in the human tissue. In an embodiment, a femtosecond laser operates at sufficiently low laser pulse energy to avoid optical breakdown of the tissue being treated. In an embodiment, the femtosecond laser operates in the infrared frequency range.

Some embodiments are directed to a skin treatment system that contains a laser generating device. A hydrogel patch may include a region, at a first side of the hydrogel patch, to be in contact with a person's skin. The region may contain an adsorbing medium (e.g., carbon black or any other substance that would have a similar effect) that, when receiving a laser beam from the laser generating device, results in Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (“ESWT”) being applied to the person's skin to treat a dermatologic condition such as an epidermal or dermal tissue structure irregularity, cellulite, a stretch mark, a scar, scar-tissue, a hypertrophic scar, an acne scar, etc.

A catheter system (100) for treating a treatment site (106) includes an energy source (124), a balloon (104), an energy guide (122A), and a balloon integrity protection system (142). The energy source (124) generates pulses of energy. The balloon (104) is positionable substantially adjacent to the treatment site (106). The balloon (104) has a balloon wall (130) that defines a balloon interior (146). The balloon (104) is configured to retain a balloon fluid (132) within the balloon interior (146). The energy guide (122A) is configured to receive the energy from the energy source (124) and guide the energy into the balloon interior (146) so that plasma is formed in the balloon fluid (132) within the balloon interior (146). The balloon integrity protection system (142) is operatively coupled to the balloon (104). The balloon integrity protection system (142) is configured to inhibit temperature-induced rupture of the balloon (104) due to the plasma formed in the balloon fluid (132) within the balloon interior (146) during use of the catheter system (100).

Some embodiments are directed to a cellulite treatment system that contains a laser generating device. A hydrogel patch may include a region, at a first side of the hydrogel patch, to be in contact with a person's skin. The region may contain an adsorbing medium (e.g., carbon black or any other substance that would have a similar effect) that, when receiving a laser beam from the laser generating device, results in Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (“ESWT”) being applied to the person's skin to treat cellulite.

A catheter system (100) for treating a treatment site (106) within or adjacent to a vessel wall (108A) or a heart valve includes a light source (124), a first light guide (122A), a second light guide (122A), and an optical alignment system (257). The light source (124) generates light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B). The first light guide (122A) receives the light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B) from the light source (124). The first light guide (122A) has a guide proximal end (122P). The second light guide (122A) receives the light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B) from the light source (124). The second light guide (122A) has a guide proximal end (122P). A multiplexer (223) directs the light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B) toward the guide proximal end (122P) of the first light guide (122A) and the guide proximal end (122P) of the second light guide (122A). The optical alignment system (257) determines an alignment of the light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B) relative to at least one of the guide proximal ends (122P). The optical alignment system (257) adjusts the positioning of the light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B) relative to the at least one of the guide proximal ends (122P) based at least partially on the alignment of the light energy (224A, 224B, 324A, 324B, 424B) relative to the at least one of the guide proximal ends (122P).