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Abu Dhabi’s TII Rolls Out Fiber Laser For Surgery And Industry
TII’s new 2µm fiber laser is built for surgical precision and industrial processing, with German MedTech backing clinical rollout.
Abu Dhabi’s Technology Innovation Institute has introduced a two-micrometer high-power fiber laser built to sharpen the precision of surgical work and industrial processing.
Developed at the institute’s Directed Energy Research Center, the Thulium-based system is compact and energy-efficient. Its wavelength interacts cleanly with water-rich materials, allowing surgeons to cut with control and manufacturers to handle delicate substrates without excess damage.
In medicine, early evaluations point to use in urinary stone removal, prostate surgery, and advanced urology devices. Beyond hospitals, the same wavelength can be applied to cutting and welding in water-rich industrial materials where precision and safety are critical.
To move it into clinics, TII has partnered with LIMA Photonics, a German startup specializing in medical device design, regulatory compliance, and commercialization. The partnership links Abu Dhabi’s research base with Europe’s medical technology market.
“At TII, we’re developing high-performance laser systems designed for real-world impact,” said Dr. Felix Vega, Chief Researcher at the Directed Energy Research Center. “Our 2 µm fiber laser showcases this approach — offering capabilities with strong potential in surgical and industrial settings”.
Also Read: IBM And AWS Plan Riyadh Hub To Drive Regional Cloud Growth
Dr. Samir Lamrini, CEO at LIMA Photonics, also commented, adding: “We are deeply impressed by the laser research demonstrated at TII and look forward to a strong partnership that we will establish in a synergistic and complementary spirit. The performance, multiple operating modes, and the system architecture of the laser are an ideal asset for clinical applications”.
The collaboration also reflects Abu Dhabi’s aim to convert advanced research into usable products, a core part of the UAE’s innovation strategy. By drawing international partners into its programs, the institute is reinforcing the emirate’s push to position itself as a regional anchor for high-tech industries under Vision 2030.
News
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.
Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.
The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc
— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026
“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.
Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.
Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget
The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.
Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.
Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon
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