1
00:00:00,793 --> 00:00:03,103
What do you do when you have a headache?

2
00:00:03,832 --> 00:00:05,494
You swallow an aspirin.

3
00:00:06,247 --> 00:00:10,570
But for this pill to get
to your head, where the pain is,

4
00:00:10,594 --> 00:00:15,971
it goes through your stomach, intestines
and various other organs first.

5
00:00:16,947 --> 00:00:22,069
Swallowing pills is the most effective
and painless way of delivering

6
00:00:22,093 --> 00:00:24,095
any medication in the body.

7
00:00:25,452 --> 00:00:30,428
The downside, though, is that swallowing
any medication leads to its dilution.

8
00:00:31,134 --> 00:00:36,759
And this is a big problem,
particularly in HIV patients.

9
00:00:36,783 --> 00:00:39,936
When they take their anti-HIV drugs,

10
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:44,026
these drugs are good for lowering
the virus in the blood,

11
00:00:44,050 --> 00:00:46,269
and increasing the CD4 cell counts.

12
00:00:46,618 --> 00:00:50,983
But they are also notorious
for their adverse side effects,

13
00:00:51,007 --> 00:00:56,500
but mostly bad, because they get diluted
by the time they get to the blood,

14
00:00:56,524 --> 00:00:59,401
and worse, by the time
they get to the sites

15
00:00:59,425 --> 00:01:04,887
where it matters most:
within the HIV viral reservoirs.

16
00:01:05,751 --> 00:01:10,274
These areas in the body --
such as the lymph nodes,

17
00:01:10,298 --> 00:01:13,183
the nervous system,
as well as the lungs --

18
00:01:13,207 --> 00:01:15,711
where the virus is sleeping,

19
00:01:15,735 --> 00:01:18,943
and will not readily
get delivered in the blood

20
00:01:18,967 --> 00:01:23,994
of patients that are under
consistent anti-HIV drugs therapy.

21
00:01:24,502 --> 00:01:28,188
However, upon discontinuation of therapy,

22
00:01:28,212 --> 00:01:31,869
the virus can awake
and infect new cells in the blood.

23
00:01:32,728 --> 00:01:39,313
Now, all this is a big problem in treating
HIV with the current drug treatment,

24
00:01:39,337 --> 00:01:43,371
which is a life-long treatment
that must be swallowed by patients.

25
00:01:43,395 --> 00:01:45,766
One day, I sat and thought,

26
00:01:45,790 --> 00:01:51,527
"Can we deliver anti-HIV directly
within its reservoir sites,

27
00:01:51,551 --> 00:01:54,128
without the risk of drug dilution?"

28
00:01:54,525 --> 00:01:59,118
As a laser scientist,
the answer was just before my eyes:

29
00:01:59,142 --> 00:02:00,952
Lasers, of course.

30
00:02:00,976 --> 00:02:03,840
If they can be used for dentistry,

31
00:02:03,864 --> 00:02:06,715
for diabetic wound-healing and surgery,

32
00:02:06,739 --> 00:02:09,444
they can be used for anything imaginable,

33
00:02:09,468 --> 00:02:12,732
including transporting drugs into cells.

34
00:02:13,403 --> 00:02:18,633
As a matter of fact,
we are currently using laser pulses

35
00:02:18,657 --> 00:02:22,286
to poke or drill extremely tiny holes,

36
00:02:22,310 --> 00:02:27,222
which open and close almost
immediately in HIV-infected cells,

37
00:02:27,246 --> 00:02:29,516
in order to deliver drugs within them.

38
00:02:30,380 --> 00:02:32,468
"How is that possible?" you may ask.

39
00:02:33,119 --> 00:02:39,452
Well, we shine a very powerful
but super-tiny laser beam

40
00:02:39,476 --> 00:02:43,280
onto the membrane of HIV-infected cells

41
00:02:43,304 --> 00:02:47,355
while these cells are immersed
in liquid containing the drug.

42
00:02:48,395 --> 00:02:53,253
The laser pierces the cell,
while the cell swallows the drug

43
00:02:53,277 --> 00:02:55,115
in a matter of microseconds.

44
00:02:55,446 --> 00:02:57,018
Before you even know it,

45
00:02:57,042 --> 00:03:00,066
the induced hole
becomes immediately repaired.

46
00:03:01,246 --> 00:03:05,666
Now, we are currently testing
this technology in test tubes

47
00:03:05,690 --> 00:03:07,197
or in Petri dishes,

48
00:03:07,221 --> 00:03:11,557
but the goal is to get
this technology in the human body,

49
00:03:11,581 --> 00:03:13,239
apply it in the human body.

50
00:03:13,928 --> 00:03:15,811
"How is that possible?" you may ask.

51
00:03:16,422 --> 00:03:20,602
Well, the answer is:
through a three-headed device.

52
00:03:21,506 --> 00:03:24,428
Using the first head, which is our laser,

53
00:03:24,452 --> 00:03:27,609
we will make an incision
in the site of infection.

54
00:03:28,498 --> 00:03:31,126
Using the second head, which is a camera,

55
00:03:31,150 --> 00:03:33,377
we meander to the site of infection.

56
00:03:33,813 --> 00:03:38,580
Finally, using a third head,
which is a drug-spreading sprinkler,

57
00:03:38,604 --> 00:03:41,611
we deliver the drugs directly
at the site of infection,

58
00:03:41,635 --> 00:03:45,736
while the laser is again used
to poke those cells open.

59
00:03:46,815 --> 00:03:50,045
Well, this might not seem
like much right now.

60
00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:55,743
But one day, if successful,
this technology can lead

61
00:03:55,767 --> 00:03:58,996
to complete eradication
of HIV in the body.

62
00:03:59,401 --> 00:04:01,766
Yes. A cure for HIV.

63
00:04:02,147 --> 00:04:05,061
This is every HIV researcher's dream --

64
00:04:05,085 --> 00:04:08,612
in our case, a cure led by lasers.

65
00:04:08,636 --> 00:04:09,789
Thank you.

66
00:04:09,813 --> 00:04:11,748
(Applause)