Michael Larson hopes to make sutures and surgical staples things of the past by developing ways for lasers to seal the cuts they make for surgery.

The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs mechanical engineering professor and El Pomar chair of engineering and innovation discovered in late 2006 that lasers could be used to bond tissue while he was doing laser research for the Department of Defense.

Larson applied for a patent on the discovery last May and is performing experiments on animal tissue to show that the device is effective. He has formed a company called Tissue Fusion LLC and is looking for financing to begin testing the device on patients.

He spent 13 years as an associate mechanical engineering professor at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he co-founded two companies. One company received $6.3 million in venture capital to develop biodegradable surgical staples for use in nasal surgery.

After Tulane shuttered its engineering school in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, he spent a year as a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before joining the UCCS faculty in the fall 2006 semester.

Question: How did you come up with the idea of using lasers as an alternative to sutures and surgical staples?

Answer: Right after I came to UCCS, I was working on Department of Defense-sponsored research on how lasers affect various materials. That coupled with my interest in medical-device design got me thinking of ways of applying my laser materials research to medical applications.

Q: What sort of medical devices have you developed?

A: While we were both at Tulane, Dr. Don Gonzales (an otolaryngologist) and I developed a

stapler that dispenses biodegradable staples used in repairing a deviated nasal septum. That was the core of a company then called Xorbent LLC that received $6.3 million in venture capital while we were both in Boston after Katrina and eventually became what is now Entrigue Surgical Inc. in Austin, Texas.

Q: What’s next for your latest invention and company?

A: We want to be in a position to get development through phase one clinical trials so it will be an attractive addition to the product line of a biotechnology company. The biggest hurdle will be doing animal studies to show the efficacy of using the laser in this way. I expect that to take 1½ years and we will need about $1 million in funding. We have a prototype built at Mind Studios (a prototyping lab Larson heads at UCCS) to show how the device would look and feel. We are talking with venture capitalists and angel investors and they are doing their due diligence right now. If either is interested, we will sign a license with the university for the technology during the next few months.

Q: Are there any competitors working on the same technology?

A: There are a couple of companies that are addressing the issue, but there is no evidence that anyone has developed a viable system to be used in a clinical setting. There have also been some research papers by physicians on this subject. There are significant barriers that have precluded people from making a viable system.

Q: How is this laser different from the lasers produced by Colorado Springs-based Spectranetics Corp.?

A: Their laser uses light in the ultraviolet range and is designed to destroy unhealthy tissue (plaque) and not harm the surrounding tissues. We are working with light in the infrared spectrum to manipulate healthy tissue.

Q: Are you working on other medical devices?

A: I want to continue developing products focused on medical applications. I am working on two projects through the university’s Technology Transfer Office that involve prototyping devices developed by doctors from the university’s Health Sciences Center to get them to the proof-of-concept stage. We are hoping to get more physicians bringing their ideas to us so we can get more of them into products.

Q: Are you working on any other types of products?

A: We are doing projects for three local small businesses through Mind Studios to develop prototypes and get students involved with real customers to build stuff. All three projects are covered by nondisclosure agreements, but they are in the pet products, retirement community and vintage toys industries. We also are in discussions with Spectranetics, CEA Technologies Inc. and Medtronic Inc. about projects we can do for them to build strategic links between the biotechnology industry and university so we can develop a strong local biotechnology industry.

CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0234 or wayneh@gazette.com. Questions and answers are edited for space and clarity.