InTherSteLa project addressing spinal surgery funded

Research on how to make high-precision bone removal without endangering deeper tissue layersF.O.M

Spinal stenosis is an age-related disease where progressive narrowing of the spinal canal can result in neck and back pain. About 5 of every 1000 persons older than 50 years have symptoms, and one of the treatment options is a demanding surgery.

OCTLIGHT is involved in a new project as one of the companies on the Project Accompanying Committee. The project “Innovative Therapy of Spinal Stenosis by Laser Ablation under OCT Control” (InTherSteLa) is approved and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and received 249,832 EUR in funding. The Laser Zentrum Hannover e. V. leads the project, which will take place from 01.09.2022 to 28.02.2025.

This exciting project aims to develop a flexible handpiece that enables high-precision bone removal without endangering deeper tissue layers. The project will combine two techniques to obtain this: bone ablation by a medical laser in live foresight using OCT.

High-speed OCT imaging is required to provide a live preview, and OCTLIGHT Caliper-HERO technology is a viable technology to commercialize this into practice.