ABSTRACT
The applications of the laser in medicine are interesting spin-off, as it were, from studies of the hazards of the laser and the developments of the laser in industry and in the military. The laser microprobe may be used on clippings from fingernails for the screening of newborn children for cystic fibrosis. For television diagnosis, the laser adapted to television would give specific channels for communications to the medical center. The Laser Laboratory has been planning a tactile sensing device for the blind using laser radar, lidar, with the production of three-dimensional imagery for tactile sensing by the sensitive fingertips of the blind. The ruby and argon lasers have been used chiefly in dermatological surgery. Laser computer technology for medical information storage and retrieval, video cassettes, and the recent MC video disc technology are all new bits of educational aids to help medical education, both undergraduate and continuing education.
