Laser tissue welding is a method of joining tissues together with no stitches, staples or sutures. It is still in the developmental phase, and current tissue welding techniques are highly dependent on the individual skill and technique of the operating surgeon. For any further advances to occur, the scientific community needs a more reproducible way to study tissue welding. Oregon Medical Laser Center has proposed that we design and build an automated laser guidance system that will attempt to eliminate human variation and error from the tissue welding process, thus yielding a safer surgical procedure.