Dr Lau | Technology Innovation | Dr Michael Lau | Seattle
Dr. Michael Lau has developed technology innovation applicable to cosmetic and plastic surgery as well as women’s health.
Dr. Michael Lau,Seattle,gynecologic surgeon,minimally invasive surgery,pelvic plastic surgery,pelvic reconstructive surgery,cosmetic surgery
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Technology Innovation

Innovations – Technology Innovation

Dr. Lau has devoted much of his professional career developing technology innovation applicable to cosmetic and plastic surgery as well as women’s health.

Prior to medical school, Dr. Lau was working on a Ph.D. in nuclear physics and chemistry at the University of Washington. He continues to engage in physics and chemistry, mainly to apply the science to his pursuit towards medical and surgical excellence. Dr. Lau was educated at the University of Oxford concentrating in technology innovation development, and he received an MBA degree from Oxford. The following are the areas of expertise and interests that Dr. Lau is actively engaging in:

Tissue contouring and support using biologics and biomimetics

In order to improve the aesthetic appearance of certain parts of the body, the surgeon might need to restore to its youthful condition the contour and support of certain tissue in those areas. Obviously, it would be more desirable to accomplish this task non-invasively or minimally invasively instead of using invasive surgery to lift, such as a face-lift or breast lift, or build volume, such as a cheek implant. Dr. Lau routinely uses superficial or deep dermal fillers to restore the youthful contour of the face, lips, hands and feet as well as other body areas. The fillers can be biologics, derived from biological sources, or biomimetics, such as synthetic material to mimic biological tissue. Beyond his clinical practice in cosmetic surgery, Dr. Lau is a scientist developing innovative material and solutions to enable the non-invasive and minimally invasive cosmetic surgical procedures.

Dr. Lau is an author of the following publications, presentations and US patents and patent applications:

  • Mason J. Burger, TajilaMullahkhel, Ian C. McPhee, Michael P.H. Lau, Leonard F. Pease III, “Biomimetic Soft Tissue Replacement and Regeneration,” in the Handbook of Biomimetics and Bioinspiration, Dr. Esmaiel Jabbari, Ali Khademhosseini, Luke P. Lee, Deok-Ho Kim, and Amir Ghaemmaghami Ed., World Scientific Publishing, 2013.
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US 2008/0125771A-1. “Methods and Apparatus for Contouring Tissue by Selective Application of Energy.”
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US2013/0090521 “Timed-Release Tensioned or Compressed Fibers.” Discloses a timed-released tensioned core-shell mesh that would gradually tighten or relax the attached supportive tissue to match the natural tissue remolding process, without the challenge of having to over tension the tissue during the surgery.
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US2013/0103079 “Biomimetic Multiple Strand Fiber Mesh and Sutures.” Discloses a biomimetic multiple strand fiber mesh that has a mechanical modulus similar to the native tissue. This feature would give the mesh a natural feel, and should decrease the risk of contraction and erosion.
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US2014/0081295 “Micro-adhesive Mesh and Sutures.” Discloses a mesh that has an adhesive surface that will attach to tissue without the need of suturing. The adhesive action is time delayed by an overlying dissolving coating to allow the proper placement of the mesh before the adhesive action begins. This invention would circumvent the need for the challenging task of endoscopic suturing in a tight space.
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US2014/0276995 “4D Dynamically Contouring Mesh and Suture.” Discloses a stressed time-release multilayer composite mesh that would give a pre-programmed contour to the attached tissue over time post operatively. This will give the surgeon the control of delivering the desirable body contour for optimized aesthetic effect.

Energy modalities applying to non-invasive and minimally invasive surgery

Clinical studies for office-based, non-invasiveHIFU treatment for uterine fibroids

Dr. Lau is an expert in applying various energy modalities to enable non-invasive and minimally invasive surgery. He is a pioneer in using laser in gynecologic surgery, championing laser laparoscopy for pelvic endometriosis and adhesions over 25 years ago. Since then, he has been applying photo-science to clinical cosmetic applications. Dr. Lau is one of the first clinicians using microwave for endometrial ablation in the U.S.

Over the last ten years, Dr. Lau has been working on using High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) for therapeutic purposes. He co-founded Mirabilis Medica, a venture backed company in Seattle that develops an office based ultrasound image guided HIFU system to treat uterine fibroids. The procedure is non-invasive, does not need any incisions or general anesthetic, and has a very brief recovery requirement – the patient can return to work one to two days after the procedure. This is potentially be a paradigm changing treatment option for women with uterine fibroids, a most common disease causing heavy menses, pain and infertility.

Dr. Lau is an author of the following publications, presentations and U.S. patents and patent applications:

  • “Office based high-speed ultrasound image guided HIFU (High Intensity Focused Ultrasound) ablation of uterine fibroids
” presented at ESGE European Society of Gynecologic Endoscopy Annual Congress, Brussels, September 2014
  • United States Patent, Number 8,057,391 “Apparatus for Delivering High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Energy to a Treatment Site Internal to a Patient’s Body.” Nov. 15, 2011
  • United States Patent, Number 8,052,604 “Methods and Apparatus for Engagement and Coupling of an Intracavitory Imaging and High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Probe.” Nov. 8, 2011.
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US 2008/0125771A-1. “Methods and Apparatus for Contouring Tissue by Selective Application of Energy.”
  • United States Patent Application Publication, US 2007/0232913. “Methods and Apparatus for the Treatment of Menometrorrhagia, Endometrial Pathology, and Cervical Neoplasia Using High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Energy.”

Dr. Lau has also leveraged his expertise in therapeutic ultrasound to apply such in aesthetic devices, even those designed for home used. He co-founded JeNu Biosciences with a team of scientists from the University of Washington, and developed an ultrasound enhanced cosmetic device for skincare at home. The following are US patent applications relating to the JeNu technology:

  1. United States Patent Application Publication US 2009/0318852 A1 “Ultrasound Based Cosmetic Therapy Method and Apparatus.” December 24, 2009
  2. United States Patent Application Publication US 2009/0318853 A1 “Ultrasound Based Cosmetic Therapy Method and Apparatus.” December 24, 2009
  3. United States Patent Application Publication US 2012/0271222 A1 “Ultrasound Based Cosmetic Therapy Method and Apparatus.” October 25, 2012
Fellow of the American College of Surgeons

American College of Surgeons

American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists