408 results about "Surgical lasers" patented technology

The present invention provides an energy delivery device for use with a medical treatment system for the more efficacious treatment of patients during laser surgery which limits the number of uses or prevents reuse of the energy delivery device after a certain threshold limit has been reached. The energy delivery device comprises a diffusing optical fiber and a memory device having data programmed therein and being operatively connected to an energy generator the optical fiber includes a temperature sensor for generating a temperature signal in a closed loop manner. The data stored in the memory device includes a multiplicity of use parameters, usage limits, usage counts, and count limits all relating to the properties of the medical treatment system. The use parameters may include an elapsed time, a total treatment time, and a number of treatment sites. A main processor is also included for calculating a temperature from the temperature signal and for updating the use parameters in response to data received by the main processor. The main processor is also used to compare the use parameters to their corresponding usage limits. The main processor can create and increment a usage count when at least one of the use parameters exceeds its corresponding usage limit. Thereafter, the main processor compares the usage count to the count limit and disables the energy delivery device when the usage count exceeds a predetermined count limit.

Failure events detected by a laser surgery monitoring feedback circuit are analyzed in order to distinguish between events that result from fiber breakdown and those arising from other sources, such as burning of tissues. If the number of failure events within a predetermined time exceeds a predetermined count, then it is determined that the radiation is the result of fiber breakdown. If the number of failure events within the predetermined time is less than the predetermined count, then it is determined that the failure events result from other causes, such as heating of tissues by the laser. Based on the analysis, an override switch or alarm may be initiated.

A method for applanating an anterior surface of a cornea and coupling the eye to a surgical laser is disclosed. A interface is provided which has a central orifice and top and bottom surfaces. A suction ring is removably coupled to the bottom surface of the interface. The interface is positioned over an operative area of an eye, such that the suction ring comes into proximate contact with the surface of the eye. A suction is applied to the suction ring to stabilize the position of the interface relative to the operative area of the eye. An applanation lens is positioned in proximate contact with the operative area of the eye. Finally, the applanation lens is coupled to the interface to stabilize the position of the lens relative to the operative area of the eye.

A system for positioning the eye of a patient, relative to a stationary surgical laser unit, includes a chair for moving the patient. An eye stabilizing element is held against the eye, with a tapered receptacle extending outwardly therefrom. Also, an alignment device with a tapered tip is mounted on the surgical laser unit. In operation, the patient is moved to engage the receptacle of the eye stabilizing element with the tip of the alignment device, to thereby align the patient's eye with the surgical laser unit for laser surgery.

A device for establishing a desired alignment between a patient's eye and a laser system to facilitate an engagement therebetween includes a light source to illuminate the eye. A moveable platform is provided to move the patient relative to the laser system. To establish alignment between the eye and the laser system, a reference marker is based on the laser system. An image of the marker, along with reflections from the illuminated eye, is then transmitted to the system controller. There, the image and reflections are processed to determine a measured alignment that is then compared to the desired alignment. An error signal that is indicative of an alignment difference is then generated and used to incrementally move the platform, or the patient, in an appropriate direction.

A laser-based method and apparatus for corneal surgery. The present invention is intended to be applied primarily to ablate organic materials, and human cornea in particular. The invention uses a laser source which has the characteristics of providing a shallow ablation depth (0.2 microns or less per laser pulse), and a low ablation energy density threshold (less than or equal to about 10 mJ / cm2), to achieve optically smooth ablated corneal surfaces. The preferred laser includes a laser emitting approximately 100–50,000 laser pulses per second, with a wavelength of about 198–300 nm and a pulse duration of about 1–5,000 picoseconds. Each laser pulse is directed by a highly controllable laser scanning system. Described is a method of distributing laser pulses and the energy deposited on a target surface such that surface roughness is controlled within a specific range. Included is a laser beam intensity monitor and a beam intensity adjustment means, such that constant energy level is maintained throughout an operation. Eye movement during an operation is corrected for by a corresponding compensation in the location of the surgical beam. Beam operation is terminated if the laser parameters or the eye positioning is outside of a predetermined tolerable range. The surgical system can be used to perform surgical procedures including removal of corneal scar, making incisions, cornea transplants, and to correct myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and other corneal surface profile defects.

A method of corneal laser surgery is disclosed. A first periphery is defined at an anterior surface of the cornea. This first periphery bounds a first planar area. A second periphery is defined within stromal tissue of the cornea. This second periphery bounds a second planar area. The second planar area is sized differently than the first planar area. A layer of stromal tissue which is bounded by the second periphery is subsequently incised. Stromal tissue between substantial portions of the first periphery and the second periphery is also incised, such that at least some corneal tissue disposed between the first and second peripheries remains connected to corneal tissue outside of the first and second peripheries.

A surgical technique for removing corneal tissue with scanned infrared radiation is disclosed which utilizes short mid-infrared laser pulses to provide a tissue removal mechanism based on photospallation. Photospallation is a photomechanical ablation mechanism which results from the absorption of incident radiation by the corneal tissue. Since photospallation is a mechanical ablation process, very little heat is generated in the unablated adjacent tissue. The disclosed surgical system includes a scanning beam delivery system which allows uniform irradiation of the treatment region and utilizes low energy outputs to achieve controlled tissue removal. A real-time servo-controlled dynamic eye tracker, based on a multiple-detector arrangement, is also disclosed which senses the motion of the eye and provides signals that are proportional to the errors in the lateral alignment of the eye relative to the axis of the laser beam. Temporal and frequency discrimination are preferably utilized to distinguish the tracking illumination from the ambient illumination and the surgical laser beam. A laser parametric generator for surgical applications is disclosed which utilizes short-pulse, mid-infrared radiation. The mid-infrared radiation may be produced by a pump laser source, such as a neodymium-doped laser, which is parametrically down converted in a suitable nonlinear crystal to the desired mid-infrared range. The short pulses reduce unwanted thermal effects and changes in adjacent tissue to potentially submicron-levels. The parametrically converted radiation source preferably produces pulse durations shorter than 25 ns at or near 3.0 microns but preferably close to the water absorption maximum associated with the tissue. The down-conversion to the desired mid-infrared wavelength is preferably produced by a nonlinear crystal such as KTP or its isomorphs. In one embodiment, a non-critically phased-matched crystal is utilized to shift the wavelength from a near-infrared laser source emitting at or around 880 to 900 nm to the desired 2.9-3.0 microns wavelength range. A fiber, fiber bundle or another waveguide means utilized to separate the pump laser from the optical parametric oscillation (OPO) cavity is also included as part of the invention.

A system for positioning the eye of a patient, relative to a stationary surgical laser unit, includes a chair for moving the patient. An eye stabilizing element is held against the eye, with a tapered receptacle extending outwardly therefrom. Also, an alignment device with a tapered tip is mounted on the surgical laser unit. In operation, the patient is moved to engage the receptacle of the eye stabilizing element with the tip of the alignment device, to thereby align the patient's eye with the surgical laser unit for laser surgery.

Methods and systems are provided for using optical interferometry in the context of material modification processes such as surgical laser or welding applications. An imaging optical source that produces imaging light. A feedback controller controls at least one processing parameter of the material modification process based on an interferometry output generated using the imaging light. A method of processing interferograms is provided based on homodyne filtering. A method of generating a record of a material modification process using an interferometry output is provided.

The invention concerns surgical lasers and their controllers as well as methods for the treatment of an eye lens, especially for the treatment of presbyopia.