Development of a High Power Fiber Laser to Perform Middle-Ear Surgery without Anesthesia

Spire (SPIR) revealed that it has been awarded a two-year, $870 thousand Phase II Small Business Innovation Research grant by the National Institutes of Heath, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to develop a high power fiber laser capable of performing myringotomy and middle-ear surgery without the need for anesthesia.

The company stated that in the first year, the grant has been funded for $438 thousand and for the second year, the funding is subject to the availability of funds and the satisfactory progress of the project.

Roger Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation, said, "We are pleased to be able to continue development of this promising laser. We envision the device as being a revolutionary treatment for inner ear problems, and will aggressively pursue its commercialization upon successful completion of the project. Many of the advanced technologies required to make this program successful reside in our Biomedical and Bandwidth Semiconductor operations, and our existing Biomedical sales and marketing infrastructure will be invaluable to our commercialization activities."