Solid state pulsed dye lasers (ssPDLs) are a potentially revolutionary class of therapeutic lasers that could be used to address a broad array of health issues, from mundane conditions like acne to serious interventions like skin cancer treatment, wound sterilization, and scar remodeling. In addition, these lasers would also be compact, inexpensive, and easily switch between emission wavelengths. These improved performance metrics could have a number of significant impacts: First, it could reduce the number of devices needed in a practice, as most medical lasers are not capable of generating more than one wavelength of light, requiring multiple lasers. In addition, the lower cost and portability would improve patient access to the treatment, as it would increase the number of physicians who could afford to purchase and maintain a laser, and increase its mobility. Unfortunately, the critical component of these lasers suffer from a fundamental materials science problem: The poor solubility of laser dyes. For a laser to work, you must have a ?gain medium? that allows the device to generate light. In ssPDLs, this gain medium is composed of fluorescent dyes dissolved in a solid polymer matrix. When dispersed at low concentrations, laser dyes are highly efficient emitters of light, but the small number of dye molecules in the gain medium means the laser power will be low. Unfortunately, when the concentration is increased the dye molecules are no longer efficient emitters. This is a result of ?quenching?, a phenomenon in which over-concentrated dyes aggregate and lose their ability to generate light. In practice, this means laser dye gain media are confined to low power operation, because there?s no way to get both highly efficient emission and a large number of molecules in the gain medium. If it were possible to overcome the concentration limits of fluorescent dyes in polymer media an opportunity would exist to create an ssPDL that lives up to its full potential. Star Voltaic, LLC, doing business as Halophore, has developed a solution to this decades-old problem: Novel fluorescent materials that can be utilized at concentrations much higher than the current dye materials. These materials are immune to the ?quenching? phenomenon that hinders other ssPDL media, and can achieve brightnesses 100x greater than any current technology. Our proposal?s central hypothesis is that the superior brightness of our concentrated fluorescent materials will allow us to make a laser with improved performance, capable of making a high-power beam that can easily switch between wavelengths. To test this hypothesis, we will pursue three Specific Aims: (1) Develop processing conditions for making dye-doped gain media; (2) construct a prototype laser system for the ssPDL media; (3) test the functionality of the gain medium in the prototype laser system, confirming characteristics of high performance, like high lasing efficiency and high signal gain. If successful, we will be one step away from a device capable of treating a full range of conditions in clinical and remote settings (e.g., schools, home care, rural hospitals) improving quality of life and health outcomes for a large number of patients.
This SBIR project will make it possible to realize an inexpensive, compact, multi-wavelength solid state pulsed dye laser capable of treating a range of conditions, from acne to wound sterilization and scar remodeling. It will lower the barrier to entry for the technology, making it suitable for use in clinics that might not ordinarily be able to afford the technology. And it will substantially increase the serviceable patient population by making it possible to transport it to remote settings (e.g., schools, home care, rural hospitals).
