Another kind of therapy from Nov. 1997 Links When lasers were invented 40 years ago, they were little more than a scientific curiosity. Today, they are a technological necessity, with more uses being discovered all the time. At the laser lab at Princess Margaret Hospital, Dr. Brian Wilson and his team are developing a new cancer detection method.
Lasers generate very pure frequencies or colours of light.
By exposing tissue to short bursts of laser, the tissue is made to give off light of its own fluorescence. And so we see diseased tissue has a subtle change in the colour of that fluorescence compared with the surrounding tissue. Lasers can also be used in the treatment of cancer. In what's known as photo-dynamic therapy , the light is used to activate drugs when and where they re needed most. Dr Wilson explains how fiber optic tubes deliver the laser to the affected tissue.