Monteris Medical Inc. has raised $3.4 million in equity for a device that enables minimally invasive laser surgery for brain tumors, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Monteris hopes to stretch the funding round to about $4.5 million, CEO Jim Duncan said. The 25-employee company has garnered $21 million in investment funding [...]

The AutoLITT System from Monteris Medical uses an MRI to guide the laser, allowing doctors to watch and adjust as they heat glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumors, reduce them to a pasty state and then remove the tumor. Company officials say the device is ideal to manage these difficult-to-reach tumors and researchers think the approach could treat half of the 8,000 annual recurrent GBM tumors.

University Hospitals Case Medical Center Dr. Andrew Sloan discusses the beginnings of a clinical trial to attack hard-to-cure brain tumors.