# Image-guided automated ultrafast laser device for laryngeal surgery to expand treatment options and improve patient outcomes

> **NIH NIH R43** · FEMTOVOX INCORPORATED · 2024 · $277,810

## Abstract

FemtoVox is building an image-guided automated ultrafast laser technology for voice box (larynx) surgery.
Current solutions using scalpels or traditional lasers aren’t automated (take longer), cause more damage (more
complications, longer wound healing), are imprecise (require repeat surgeries) and can set patients’ airways on
fire (higher liability). Our system provides real-time cross-sectional imaging using optical coherence
tomography (OCT). This allows surgeons to select the exact excision depth and automate laser scanning to
remove the defined tissue volume with higher precision. In contrast to existing solutions, ultrafast lasers
produce no collateral damage (due to their extremely short picosecond or femtosecond pulse durations).
Overall, our solution will be better: improved clinical outcomes, higher efficiencies and increased throughput.
With industry-leading experience commercializing automated ultrafast laser ophthalmic surgical devices
(Intralase, LenSx, Vialase), we have the expertise, vendor relationships and professional network to
commercialize this device. We aim to target the $1.8B spent annually (US) on laryngeal surgery. Our
technology is the superior solution for the ~120,000 larynx surgeries performed annually in the US. In addition
to these existing cases, there’s a large and compelling opportunity for the ~400,000 annual larynx benign
lesion diagnoses, which are rarely operated on (~5% of diagnoses) due to collateral damage concerns, which
leaves many patients (and surgeons) with no solutions. In the long term, we envision a platform technology for
broader ENT deployment (rhinology, oral cavity, throat).
With the potential to greatly improve laryngeal surgical outcomes, this technology aligns closely with the NIH’s
mission of improving health-related outcomes. We see the larynx as a well-suited beachhead for the first non-
ophthalmic ultrafast laser application for several reasons. Firstly, laryngologists or comprehensive ENTs
operating on the larynx are very familiar with lasers; however, current lasers cause too much collateral
damage, 25% of existing laser surgeries require re-treatment and conservative speech therapy has high failure
rates. Secondly, the larynx has very sensitive tissue for which automation and higher precision can preserve
more tissue. Lastly, larynx tissue is quite thin and optically transmissible, ideal for OCT imaging.
The project has three specific aims in its Phase I stage. The first aim is to demonstrate the superiority of
ultrafast lasers in minimizing collateral damage in laryngeal tissue. The second aim focuses on characterizing
ultrafast laser-based coagulation using the Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) as a preclinical in vivo
model. The third and final aim is to demonstrate sub-surface excisions in cadaveric laryngeal tissue, a
groundbreaking capability that could revolutionize laryngeal surgery as many benign lesions are sub-epithelial.
Completion of all these aims will define the op...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11005911
- **Project number:** 1R43DC022200-01
- **Recipient organization:** FEMTOVOX INCORPORATED
- **Principal Investigator:** Manu Sharma
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $277,810
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11005911

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11005911, Image-guided automated ultrafast laser device for laryngeal surgery to expand treatment options and improve patient outcomes (1R43DC022200-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11005911. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*