LA&HA Competency Center
One of the core mission of LA&HA® is research and development of laser technologies and applications that reduce the invasiveness of medical treatments.
As a testament of this vision twelve partners from industry, academia and medicine, have joined forces with LA&HA to form an EU regional competency center of Biomedical Engineering (BME), as an integral part of and under the guidance of LA&HA. The BME’s ambition is to become the central knowledge institution for applied research in the field of biomedical engineering in this part of the EU.
The LA&HA Competency center is actively developing:
- new therapeutic sources,
- new or significantly improved monitoring and diagnostic sensors,
- control systems for direct or remote control and supervision of medical devices, patients or therapeutic treatments.
MINMED: Minimally Invasive Medical Devices
The aim of the MiNMED project is to develop new and innovative laser sources based on diode pumping, and new medical applications for the current sources in the fields of ophthalmology and dermatology. Two of the objectives of the project are the development of a new ophthalmic photodisruptor and the development of a new DualLight laser source for laser dermatology devices.
SmartMed: Smart Electromagnetic Medical Devices
The SmartMed project focuses on the development of a wide range of innovative sensors that sense the effects of electromagnetic waves on human tissue. The objective of the research is to control the electromagnetic parameters and consequently ensure selective treatment of the injured tissue, resulting in a less invasive impact on the tissue.
PhysicodermPhysiCoDerm: Enhancement of Cell Membrane and Skin Permeability for Transdermal Drug Delivery by Means of Physical Methods
The PhysiCoDerm project is concentrated on the development of new therapeutic devices and methods that are based on the effects of electric fields and ultrasound on cells. The research is aimed towards finding therapeutic methods that will allow the entry of active substances through the skin, into the skin cells and subcutaneous tissue.
SAinZDRAV: Home Devices in Support of Independent and Healthy Living
The focus of the SAMinZDRAv project is to research the most appropriate component technologies for developing a system designed to unobtrusively acquire and evaluate the parameters of functional health for an observed person and improve their opportunities for maintaining an independent and healthy life.
TOF–PET: Instrumentation for scanners to provide improved imaging technology in nuclear medicine
Positron emission tomography (PET) is an important diagnostic tool in oncology, neurology, cardiology, and for identifying inflammatory processes. The project aims to improve the quality of PET devices in terms of the signal-noise ratio by improving the time resolution of the devices.
List of partners under the Laser and Health Academy's Competency Center BME:
 | Fotona Inc. Since 1964 Fotona d.d. has set industry standards of excellence in laser systems for medicine, communications, industry, and defense. |
 | Gorenje Inc. Development of distributed systems of health status sensors and wireless distant communications from home for an unobtrusive acquisition and evaluation of functional health |
 | Jožef Stefan Institute (Department for Low and Medium Energy Physics) Experimental physics of structure of hadronic and atomic-molecular systems. |
| Jožef Stefan Institute (Department for Complex Matter) Activity of the department involves research areas from synthesis of novel nanomaterials to basic research of elementary excitations, self-organisation and adaptive functionality in complex systems – from superconductors and nanostructures to liquid crystals, and biological systems. |
 | Instrumentation Technologies Inc. Instrumentation and diagnostics for particle accelerators and biomedical engineering applications. |
 | University Institute for Rehabilitation University Institute for Rehabilitation is the major national rehabilitation hospital and research centre. It is a well-equipped facility where research in the fields of human sensory-motor systems and movement rehabilitation as well as development of technology within the fields of orthopedics and rehabilitation aids is conducted. |
 | Iskra Medical Ltd Iskra Medical Ltd. focuses on the effects of laser therapy, polychromatic light therapy, radiofrequency electromagnetic heating, electrical stimulation and ultrasound waves on biological tissue as well as their use in medicine. |
 | Institute of Oncology Ljubljana The research activities of the Department of Experimental Oncology are in the field of translational researchin oncology. Specific areas are electroporation-based technologies for delivery of chemotherapeutics or naked DNA for treatment of solid tumors. |
 | Optotek Ltd. Optotek Ltd. specializes in developing innovative optical and laser solutions and technologies for applications in ophthalmology. RD competence cover the following fields: laser physics, electronics, optics, mechanics and software development. |
 | University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Electrical Engineering - Laboratory of Biocybernetics) The main research fields of the laboratory are cell membrane electroporation and delivery of substances into the skin, including the application of these methods in biology, biotechnology, and medicine. The research ranges from experimental work, analytical and numerical analysis of currents and fields on the micro- and macroscopic level, to development of devices for experimental and clinical work and information technologies for support of clinical work. |
| University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Electrical Engineering - Laboratory of Imaging Technologies) The laboratory's research is focused on automatic processing, analysis, and interpretation of images, which are acquired in the visible and invisible light spectra, by X-ray imaging, computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, ultrasound, and microscopy. The developed methods are built into demanding systems for image-guided medical diagnosis and therapy. |
 | University of Ljubljana (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering - Laboratory for Optodynamic and Laser Engineering) Areas of expertise of the laboratory are research and development of opto-mechatronic systems and applications of embedded microcontroller systems and programmable logic devices in mechatronic systems. Activities include research in the field of laser measurement and manufacturing systems. |
 | University of Maribor (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Electro-Optical and Sensory Systems Laboratory) The laboratory conducts research in the field of optical fiber sensors, optical fiber design, industrial sensors, photonics devices and components, acoustic sensors and other general areas of measurement and instrumentation. Activities include basic research, applied research and early prototype development including analog and digital electronics design. |
| University of Maribor (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - System Software Laboratory) Scientific and research competences lie in the fields of analysis and decomposition of bioelectrical signals, medical imaging and recognition, and modelling and simulations in medicine. At the applied and development level, the laboratory members cope with software development, in particular system software, and embedded microcontrolled systems in the fields of signal processing and computer vision. |
 | University Medical Centre Ljubljana University Medical Centre Ljubljana is a public medical institution active on the secondary and tertiary levels of health care, as well as educational work and scientific research. The centre is the leading facility of this kind in Slovenia. Participating in the centre of excellence are Department of Dermatovenereology, Division of Neurology, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Ophtalmology, Division of Stomatology, and Division of Surgery. |
