A team of scientists from the University of Michigan reported the development of a compact, portable laser that may safely and simply treat.

The laser is said to be the size of a DVD. The chief developer is Mohammed Islam, a professor of both electrical engineering and internal medicine at the university.

Dr. Islam said that his primary interest has been fiber optics. "We're taking what we've known for years in that field and building a laser that's compact and economical and has real potential to make it to the marketplace," he said in a statement.

The device is an all fiber-based Raman laser that emits at 1,708-nanometers. It was built "using commercially available telecommunications components," Dr. Islam and his colleagues reported in the August edition of Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (2011;6:470-80).

The 1,708-nm infrared beam has a unique wavelength that is absorbed more efficiently by fat, according to Dr. Islam and his colleagues. That allows the beam to penetrate deeper into the skin (a reported 1.5 mm or more), since it will not be blocked by water.

They tested the laser on two tissue types: an ex-vivo porcine heart tissue cross-section consisting of pericardial adipose and myocardium, and an ex-vivo porcine skin tissue cross-section consisting of epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous fat.

They also conducted histochemistry tests on human skin that had been treated by the laser. Cooling was required to prevent superficial burns; with that, they were able to achieve thermal damage to sebaceous glands at depths of up 1.65 mm into the dermis.

Dr. Jeffrey Orringer, a coahuthor and a professor of dermatology at the University, said in a statement that, "This laser system has the potential to alter sebaceous glands in the skin and thereby impact the pathogenesis of acne."

In the paper, however, he, Dr. Islam and colleagues concluded, "Selective damage of sebaceous glands was suggested but not definitively demonstrated."

Laser acne treatments exist, but have shown mixed results. Dr. Islam and his colleagues reported that lasers with wavelengths of 1,320 nm, 1,450 nm, and 1,540 nm "target the water content in the dermis and cause non-specific thermal damage including injury to sebaceous glands, but this effect on sebaceous glands was seen to be quite transient." These lasers also aren't able to penetrate very deeply, "making these wavelengths theoretically less effective at targeting sebaceous glands located deeper into the dermis."

Mr. Islam has licensed his laser technology to a University of Michigan start-up company, Omni Sciences. The research was supported by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center and Omni Sciences. Mr. Islam is the founder, president, and chief technology officer of Omni Sciences.

- Alicia Ault (on Twitter @aliciaault)