MADISON - They look more like stray computer parts than precision medical tools, but Amit Lal's research creations could give surgeons an incomparable new edge in medicine.
Lal, an electrical and computer engineer with the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has created a new class of medical cutting tools etched from wafers of silicon, using some of the same lithography techniques behind integrated circuits. His silicon blades are up to 10 times as sharp as the advanced medical tools made from metal.
The technology could lead to greater precision for highly sensitive procedures, such as cataract surgery or neurosurgery, Lal said. It could also be used in the development of a genuine first in medicine: painless needles.
"What I'm trying to do is promote a new silicon age," said Lal, who believes that integrated circuits are only scraping the surface of the material's potential. "It's the most perfect material you can find for the cost. One silicon wafer might cost $15 bucks, and it is practically flawless structurally."
Silicon micro-machines -- also called micro-electromechanical systems, or MEMS -- are projected to routinely find applications in industries such as automotive and medical diagnostics. However, Lal's focus is on using silicon for high-energy actuators, and his lab is the first to explore it as a cutting material. Since it can be brittle, Lal's major research goal is to improve the material's toughness through surface treatments.
Lal's devices use an electrical process called ultrasonics, which creates extremely fast sonic vibrations that are beyond human perception. Ultrasonic medical tools have been used for years in cataract surgery, where the vibration helps break up and remove cataract tissue. Those devices, made from titanium or other high-performance metals, are very expensive, tend to overheat and need high voltage to function.
Silicon-based tools could solve those problems, and add another major advantage,
Lal said. T
'"/>
Contact: Amit Lal
lal@engr.wisc.edu
608-265-9356
University of Wisconsin-Madison
31-Mar-1999