The OMLC team comprises physicians, chemists, biologists, biomaterial engineers, clinicians, physicists and administrative staff who collaborate freely to achieve breakthrough biomedical research that has resulted in lifesaving medical applications used worldwide.
The Oregon Medical Laser Center was established in 1991 to pursue new applications for lasers in medicine. Under the leadership of Dr. Kenton Gregory, M.D., a cardiologist and engineer with specialties in photobiology and laser biophysics, the center rapidly established itself as one of the top three laser research centers in the country. Among its pioneering achievements:
Dr. Kenton Gregory was the first in medical history to use a laser to vaporize a blood clot and stop a heart attack in progress.
Providence St. Vincent Hospital was the first site in the world to stop a stroke in progress, using a fluid-core laser catheter invented by Dr. Gregory.
OMLC scientists have developed new uses for lasers as alternatives to sutures for fusing tissues together.
First in the Pacific Northwest to use photodynamic therapy (PDT) to treat lung cancer.
First in the Pacific Northwest to cure esophageal cancer using PDT.
First to invent a hand-held optical skin scanner to detect skin cancer.
In recent years, the OMLC has begun to explore the use of lasers as an alternative to sutures for tissue fusion and repair. This work has lead to a natural expansion in the center’s research focus as OMLC scientists have developed biomaterials that could be fused to wounds for tissue repair. Today, the OMLC is considered not only one of the top biomedical laser research facilities in the world, but also an international leader in the development of advanced wound-repair and hemorrhage-control technologies.
OMLC scientists discovered new isoforms of a protein called tropoelastin that can be used to repair and replace damaged organs and tissues without causing rejection.
The OMLC recently introduced a new FDA-approved bandage that stops massive bleeding in seconds — possibly the most important advancement in hemorrhage control since the tourniquet. It also has saved thousands of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan and was awarded one of the US Army’s “Top 10 Greatest Inventions” of 2004.
