Who Is LightScalpel?
Learn about VetScalpel and its parent company
Who We Are
VetScalpel, a division of LightScalpel Inc based near Seattle, Washington, designs and manufactures CO2 surgical lasers for veterinary applications. Our products are distributed worldwide. Since 2005, VetScalpel has been the only North American-based veterinary CO2 laser manufacturer.
VetScalpel’s Origins
VetScalpel’s founders, Paul Diaz and Peter Vitruk, both former principals at laser manufacturer Luxar Corporation, were intimately involved in the design and manufacture of that company’s line of CO2 surgical lasers, Paul as Luxar’s Director of Engineering, and Peter as Luxar’s Senior/Chief Scientist. In the late 1990s, Luxar Corporation was acquired by ESC Medical Systems, which later became Lumenis. The Luxar line was subsequently discontinued. Paul and Peter went on to found VetScalpel’s original parent company, LuxarCare LLC. Starting in Peter’s garage and working with nothing more than extensive knowledge, they provided repair services, support, and accessories to thousands of Luxar and Accuvet™ laser owners who were left without repair and maintenance options after the dissolution of Luxar.
Built on Superior Customer Service
The company was founded and built from a drive to provide a superior customer experience focusing on quality service, low cost and efficient turnaround times. In 2005, gathering together many talented and experienced former Luxar laser engineers as well as other industry experts, Paul and Peter took on the challenge of designing and building the next generation of CO2 surgical lasers and created the Aesculight brand.
Then, in 2017, the veterinary line was relaunched as VetScalpel, succeeding the Aesculight brand, with greatly improved accessories and pulse modes.
In 2025, the company unveiled the fourth-generation VetScalpel PRO+, marking a paradigm shift in veterinary laser surgery. The PRO+ was designed to make surgery easier, faster, and more intuitive through a completely redesigned user interface, improved workflow efficiency, and smarter performance controls—setting a new standard for CO2 surgical laser usability and precision.
The results are the products you see on these web pages, a new line of CO2 surgical lasers with improved beam delivery, higher power, new patented laser tube technology, and updated control and display features. VetScalpel continues to focus on our founding principles of exceptional customer service and technical support.
An intense focus is placed on finding the best, most talented and dedicated people to carry Peter and Paul’s vision forward. We are privileged to work with many surgical laser consultants and luminaries in a number of veterinary specialties. Our close cooperation with the brightest minds in surgical laser medicine allows our engineers and scientists to develop the best surgical laser devices, tools, and accessories. Many of our surgical laser consultants have performed thousands of laser installations and laser training sessions across the United States and Canada, first with Luxar Corporation and now with the VetScalpel, Aesculight, LuxarCare, and LightScalpel brands.
The VetScalpel Surgical Laser brand, along with its parent company LightScalpel Inc., is a private “family-owned” company and the fastest-growing designer and manufacturer of CO2 surgical laser technology for physicians and veterinarians. VetScalpel is the ONLY North American-based manufacturer of veterinary surgical CO2 lasers. VetScalpel’s focus is on providing surgeons with state-of-the-art, proven, and reliable surgical laser technologies designed to help them improve patient care. VetScalpel’s growth is powered by our proven ability to satisfy market demand with the best American-made products and services.
VetScalpel Mission
We strive to perfect laser technology and to excel at helping veterinarians improve their business, patient care, and clients’ satisfaction. We are the only American based veterinary surgical CO2 laser manufacturer, and as such, are the best suited to serve and protect our customers’ investments in their VetScalpel lasers through uncompromising dedication to excellent customer service and product support.
Made in the USA: State-of-the-art Manufacturing and Service Operations
All VetScalpel surgical CO2 lasers are manufactured by LightScalpel at our state-of-the-art laser facility in Bothell (near Seattle), Washington, USA. Most of our laser engineers and technicians have been at the forefront of surgical and industrial laser technology since the early 1990s. VetScalpel’s technical support and customer services are performed directly from the factory and with direct involvement from many of our laser engineers.
VetScalpel Founding and Management Team
Peter Vitruk, PhD, MInstP
Co-Founder, CEO
Dr. Peter Vitruk was born and raised in Ukraine. He earned his PhD degree in Physics from the Moscow Physics and Technology Institute, Moscow in the late 1980s in the former USSR. In the 1990s, he held a Research Scientist position with the Academy of Sciences in the former USSR and then a Royal Society Visiting Research Fellow position at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He later worked as Senior Scientist with Synrad Inc. in Seattle, WA, and then as Chief Scientist with Luxar/ESC/Lumenis also in Seattle, WA. In 2002, Dr. Vitruk founded Luxarcare LLC, and in 2005, he founded Aesculight LLC and LightScalpel LLC – the only American-based designer and manufacturer of surgical CO2 lasers for the small office outpatient market. Dr. Vitruk has authored 10 patents and over 50 articles on CO2 lasers and is a Member of the Institute of Physics, UK. In 2017, he founded the American Laser Study Club, an educational platform that helps physicians, dentists, veterinarians, and practice staff members to excel at the efficient and safe application of laser energy in everyday practice. He is married to his wife of 39 years, Natasha, and they have two children, Olga and Alexander, and one grandchild, Leo. Peter Vitruk’s Curricula Vitae
Paul Diaz, MSc EE, Member IEEE
Co-Founder
Prior to co-founding LuxarCare in 2002 and LightScalpel in 2005, Paul held major development positions at several companies. He was Project Manager with Johnson & Johnson Ultrasound and then Senior Electrical / Software Engineer and Systems Group Manager with Laakmann Electro Optics (merged into Xanar, Coherent Medical). He later co-founded Luxar Corporation (which merged into ESC/Lumenis) and served as its Director of Engineering until 2001, leading all electrical and software design for the LX-20 and NovaPulse systems. Paul is also a Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
David Walters
COO
Dave is another Luxar Corp / Lumenis alumnus, during which he held a variety of Engineering and Manufacturing roles between 1995 and 2002. Dave joined LightScalpel in 2005 as its Engineering Manager. He brings extensive laser engineering and laser manufacturing experience, including design, prototyping, high-volume production of high-precision systems and sub-systems, quality controls, and regulatory controls. In his role as the company’s COO, Dave oversees its daily operations and, together with Peter and Paul, outlines its strategies for current and future markets. Before joining LightScalpel, Dave served as Engineering Manager at Sensitech Inc. in Redmond, WA.
Natasha Vitruk, PhD
Controller
Natasha serves as the Financial Controller, overseeing the company’s accounting operations, financial reporting, and compliance functions. With over 27 years in finance and accounting, she brings extensive experience across all aspects of accounting and financial controls, tightly integrated with LightScalpel’s daily operations. Natasha has been with the company since its founding days in 2002. She has since provided leadership to LightScalpel’s accounting team, ensuring the accuracy and integrity of financial data that supports strategic decision-making and business growth. Prior to her career in Accounting and Finance, Natasha earned her PhD in Organic Chemistry. She held a university teaching position in the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Outside of work, Natasha is a devoted mother of two and a super proud grandmother.
