Emil Sobol,a Anatoly Shekhter,b Anna Guller,b Olga Baum,a and Andrey Baskovc
a Institute on Laser and Information Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 2, Pionerskya, Troitsk, 142192, Russia
b I.M. Sechenov First Moscow Medical University, Russia
c Center for Vertebrology and Orthopedics, Moscow, Russia
Abstract
Laser radiation provides a means to control the fields of temperature and thermo mechanical stress, mass
transfer, and modification of fine structure of the cartilage matrix. The aim of this outlook paper is to review physical
and biological aspects of laser-induced regeneration of cartilage and to discuss the possibilities and prospects of its
clinical applications. The problems and the pathways of tissue regeneration, the types and features of cartilage will
be introduced first. Then we will review various actual and prospective approaches for cartilage repair; consider
possible mechanisms of laser-induced regeneration. Finally, we present the results in laser regeneration of joints
and spine disks cartilages and discuss some future applications of lasers in regenerative medicine. C 2011 Society of
Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.3614565]
Keywords: laser; medical physics; cartilage; regeneration; tissue structure; orthopedics.
Paper 11088VRR received Mar. 1, 2011; revised manuscript received Jun. 22, 2011; accepted for publication Jul. 1, 2011; published
online Aug. 9, 2011.
Online Source: SPIE Digital Library