Neurosurgeons Use MRI-Guided Lasers To Destroy Tumors

breadboy21 writes "In the seemingly perpetual battle to rid this planet of cancer, a team of neurosurgeons from Washington University are using a new MRI-guided high-intensity laser probe to 'cook' brain tumors that would otherwise be completely inoperable. According to Dr. Eric C. Leuthardt, this procedure 'offers hope to certain patients who had few or no options before,' with the laser baking the cancer cells deep within the brain while leaving the good tissue around it unmarred. The best part, however, is that this is already moving beyond the laboratory, with a pair of doctors at Barnes-Jewish Hospital using it successfully on a patient last month. Regrettably, just three hospitals at the moment are equipped with the Monteris AutoLITT device, but if we know anything about anything related to lasers, it'll be everywhere in no time flat."

Comments

Damn

[roman_mir]

They totally misread the request by the Dr. Evil, he asked for sharks with lasers ON their heads, not humans with lasers IN their heads.

These scientists, always get some mundane detail like that wrong and totally spoil the scheme.

--

OTOH this is freaking cool. How do they get the lasers only to burn the cancer cells and not burn tissue on the way to the cancer cells?

Re:Damn

[EdZ]

"See, you can check your anatomy all you want, and even though there may be normal variation, when you get down to it this far inside the head it all looks the same. No nonono, don't tug on that, you never know what it might be attached to".

Seemingly perpetual battle?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're right... this pointless war has gone on too long, let's just legalize cancer and be done with it.

Re:Write your own damn summaries...

[XnavxeMiyyep]

Have you ever read the Slashdot summaries? I'm pretty sure most of them are just excerpts from the articles put through a few online translators.

Re:a better article

[kurzweilfreak]

Then try rocket surgery! It's a bitch!