117. Ultrasound + Lasers = Bye Heart Disease, Mapping The Immune System, 3D-Printed  Hypercar

Show Notes: <p><a href='https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/groundbreaking-heart-disease-treatment-uses-ultrasound-assisted-lasers'> Groundbreaking heart disease treatment uses ultrasound-assisted lasers</a> | Brighter Side News (01:21)</p> <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">Atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque, can lead to heart disease, artery disease, and chronic kidney disease and is traditionally treated by inserting and inflating a balloon to expand the artery. </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Rohit Singh, of the University of Kansas, and other researchers developed a method that combines a low-power laser with ultrasound to remove arterial plaque safely and efficiently. </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">High-power laser treatments direct thermal energy to vaporize water in the artery and create a vapor bubble, which expands and collapses to break the plaque. <ul><li style="font-weight:400;">The addition of irradiation from ultrasound causes the microbubbles to expand, collapse, and disrupt the plaque.</li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Singh talks about the combo of laser treatment with ultrasounds:<ul><li style="font-weight:400;">“In conventional laser angioplasty, a high laser power is required for the entire cavitation process, whereas in our technology, a lower laser power is only required for initiating the cavitation process … Overall, the combination of ultrasound and laser reduces the need for laser power and improves the efficiency of atherosclerotic plaque removal."</li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Because it destroys rather than compresses the plaque, the combination technique will have a lower restenosis rate, or re-narrowing of the artery, compared to balloon angioplasty or stenting.<ul><li style="font-weight:400;"><a href='https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/what-to-know-restenosis'>Restenosis</a> occurs when an artery that was opened with a stent or angioplasty becomes narrowed again.</li> </ul> </li> <li style="font-weight:400;">Singh and collaborators are also us