Need FULL, custom control of a CD-RW burner for mad science experiment

James1280

Commendable
Jul 16, 2016
3
0
1,510
(Note: This isn't as long as it looks - you don't have to read beyond the second bolded line)

Hello fellow computer geeks, nerds and dweebs! ;) I know this is a bit on the... unconventional side for tech questions, but it's an incredibly important one to me (life-changing in fact).
I've been a medical science geek much longer than a computer geek, and I'm at a bit of a stumbling block here....

So basically, I'm 31 years old and fed up with watching life pass me by because of (literally) crippling pain from a spinal injury. It's time to do something about it.
Mods: Please bear in mind - as any doctor or research paper will tell you - that while this may sound a smidge scary, there's truly zero possible risk to ones health in what I'm trying to do.

What I need:

Full, manual control of a CD-RW burner without any software/firmware telling me when it can or cannot fire the laser. I was thinking maybe some kind of software, or just a rudimentary On/Off switch in some kind of a jury-rigged autonomous system.

Newer drives (like DVD) are no good; only the old CD-RW burners provide the right optic wavelength, frequency and power output. So quite simply, I need to gain the power/control to simply tell the laser when to burn and when to turn off: regardless of whether there's a disk in there, the case is open, how many holes I might drill in the case etc.
If I can get just that far it would mean the world, but it would get me a lot further if I could also rig the laser to run on a rapid pulse at a custom frequency of my choosing.



Why I need it (for anyone wondering because they're as nerdy as me):

I'm working on a theoretical approach to catalyzing capsular-facet ligament regeneration (between the vertebrae); stimulating mitotic regeneration through targeted activation of stem cells that would otherwise lie dormant. I know what you're thinking but no, it won't set-off cancer cells.

An awful design flaw in all our bodies is that the vast majority of chronic, long-term back or neck pain comes from tearing these ligaments (in the dorsal zygapophysial joints of the spine) and yet, while the body is technically capable of healing these ligaments, it's unable to actually detect the specific point of injury and respond accordingly - rendering ligament regeneration (especially throughout the spine) extremely slow, if not altogether halted.
So after much research, thought and picking apart data from Google Scholar, I believe I've figured out a way to force the little eukaryotic bastards into getting busy and healing with the work ethic of our more competent outer-tissue cells.

My plan is to hook up some fiber-optic cables to a laser within an 800-870 nanometer wavelength in the Near-Infrared range, lace it through a syringe and fire away into pinpoint target sites at a few varying angles, into the ligaments. This narrow range is the only photonic wavelength that can easily penetrate human tissue unencumbered. There's a bunch of other configurations necessary to make it work, but this is too long already....

Pulsing this carefully-configured beam into ligament tissue (in particular) rapidly uncouples/recouples nitrates from Heme and Copper-based receptors in cation and ligand-gated ion channels, stimulating rapid mitochondrial ATP synthesis in ligament stem cells. By following this method - rather than the conventional (and insanely-expensive) prolotherapy methods of cytokine-induced regeneration - the ligaments can actually grow back as normal tissue rather than scar tissue.
Basically I've just gathered all the data on Low-Level Laser Therapy, refined it hugely from a 10-foot pile of research papers from around the world (because even LLLT clinic methods are way-behind in the details), and now I'm working on my own system.

Please bear in mind, the unwavering/universal catch-phrase "see your doctor" is a complete joke. TV portrays doctors as these brilliant bio-medical puzzle solvers; in reality their training consistently amounts to "I dunno.... take a painkiller, eat healthy, exercise".

Also, if any mods still have liability concerns: this is all for research purposes and my intention is to present the final design to scientists - in the interest of furthering human knowledge.
(No British spies were cut in half in the making of this laser).
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
I would think there are more suitable (and medically validated) lasers for such uses. I applaud your ingenuity, but I don't see you being able to modify the CD-RW laser's wavelength to do what you want. Those are designed for specific wavelengths and intensities.
 

James1280

Commendable
Jul 16, 2016
3
0
1,510


Oh, sorry if I was unclear but no, I don't need to modify the wavelength - I'm using a CD-RW burner specifically because it's the only laser technology I could find that already runs at exactly the right wavelength and amplitude. All I need is the ability to tell it to fire even though I'm not burning a disk.
There are medically-validated laser systems you can buy for just this purpose, but $6,000-$12,000 isn't the kind of pocket change I have lying around while on disability (which I so desperately want to get off of and back to work).
 

COLGeek

Cybernaut
Moderator
Then your best bet is to disassemble a CD-RW, locate and remove the laser, and make a switch. You should also wear protective (laser safe) eye wear.

I do not recommend this course of action.
 

USAFRet

Titan
Moderator
Not recommended
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Why not just hack a $5 off the shelf laser pointer, at least to practice your mad scientist skills with.
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Not recommended
 

James1280

Commendable
Jul 16, 2016
3
0
1,510


@USAFRet:: Yep that was my first thought before I read anything about laser tech, but surprisingly, modifying wavelength (& thus color) with only DIY at-home resources is basically impossible; countless hobbyists on laser enthusiast forums discussed this for pages and invariably concluded "well screw it! I give up :-( ".
(Plus the amperes in a pen are way too weak, even if you disable the internal safety mechanism)

Thanks for the input nonetheless though.



@COLGeek: Very good advice indeed! Admittedly, I wrote my original post here when I was extremely tired and a little tipsy, falling back on my usual MO of trying to invent every segment from scratch just from raw logic... only to face-palm a couple days later when the thought occurred to me: Waaaaiiit a minute.... what if somebody's already done the heavy thinking for me?" So I just googled "how to build laser from CD-RW" and sure enough....

I now know how to get the thing built & custom tailored to my needs,except that the one and only stumbling block I still don't know how to get past is getting the burner's laser to rapidly flick on and off (to avert thermal tissue damage... under the theoretical framework). Although specific pulse frequencies set with precision timing would be ideal (better cellular responsiveness at 100-200 nanosecond pulses), any 'ol on-and-off, rapidly-flickering pulse will do - the difference in physiological affect would be tiny.

Anyway I know this was one hell of a long-shot; I was just hoping somebody might know of custom-control software or have experience with custom electronics rigging. I really do appreciate you guys taking the time to respond, but since this shot in the dark doesn't seem to have hit anything, I completely understand if you need to close this.

Thanks again - may an AES-256 encryption protocol always be with you.