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.

A disposable stabilization and applanation device for reconfiguring the cornea of an eye for ophthalmic laser surgery, includes an applanation lens that is disposed in a particular spatial position with respect to an incident laser beam. The applanation lens is inserted into the central opening of an attachment ring and applanates the eye in response to pressure from a lens cone. The attachment ring is coupled to the eye and includes a skirt which surrounds the applanation lens and extends outwardly therefrom to define a chamber. The skirt is formed with a groove which defines a suction channel between the attachment ring skirt and the corneal surface of an eye. A vacuum source is connected and fluid communication with the suction channel and is selectively activated to create a partial vacuum in the channel.

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.

An apparatus and method for ocular surgery includes a delivery system for generating and guiding a surgical laser beam to a focal point on a target surface in a treatment area of an eye. A detector is coupled to the beam path of the surgical laser to create a three-dimensional image of the target surface, and a computer morphs this three-dimensional image into a two-dimensional image. Operationally, the computer then uses the two-dimensional image to position and move the focal point in the treatment area for surgery.

A laser treatment device and process with controlled cooling. The device contains a cooling element with high heat conduction properties, which is transparent to the laser beam. A surface of the cooling element is held in contact with the tissue being treated while at least one other surface of the cooling element is cooled by the evaporation of a cryogenic fluid. The cooling is coordinated with the application of the laser beam so as to control the temperatures of all affected layers of tissues. In a preferred embodiment useful for removal of wrinkles and spider veins, the cooling element is a sapphire plate. A cryogenic spray cools the top surface of the plate and the bottom surface of the plate is in contact with the skin. In preferred embodiments the wavelength of the laser beam is chosen so that absorption in targeted tissue is low enough so that substantial absorption occurs throughout the targeted tissue. In a preferred embodiment for treating large spider veins with diameters in the range of 1.5 mm, Applicants use an Er:Glass laser with a wavelength of 1.54 microns.< / PTEXT>

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.

An ophthalmic patient interface system includes an interface device and an ocular device. The interface device includes a frame having a first end and a second end, a lens disposed at the first end, and a skirt affixed to the first end. The second end is adapted to couple with a surgical laser system, and the skirt is adapted to seal against an anterior surface of an eye. The ocular device includes magnifying optics and is adapted to be removably seated within the second end. The magnifying optics image a region on a corneal side of the lens when the ocular device is seated within the second end.

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.

A refractive laser surgery process is disclosed for using compact, low-cost ophthalmic laser systems which have computer-controlled scanning with a non-contact delivery device for both photo-ablation and photo-coagulation in corneal reshaping. The basic laser systems may include flash-lamp and diode pumped UV solid state lasers (193-215 nm), compact excimer laser (193 nm), free-running Er:glass (1.54 microns), Ho:YAG (2.1 microns), Q-switched Er:YAG (2.94 microns), and tunable IR lasers, (750-1100) nm and (2.5-3.2) microns. The advantages of the non-contact, scanning device used in the process over other prior art lasers include being safer, reduced cost, more compact and more precise and with greater flexibility. The theory of beam overlap and of ablation rate and coagulation patterns is also disclosed for system parameters. Lasers are selected with energy of (0.01-10) mJ, repetition rate of (1-10,000), pulse duration of 0.01 nanoseconds to a few hundreds of microseconds, and with spot size of (0.05-2) mm for use with refractive laser surgery.

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.

Improved devices, systems, and methods for diagnosing, planning treatments of, and / or treating the refractive structures of an eye of a patient incorporate results of prior refractive corrections into a planned refractive treatment of a particular patient by driving an effective treatment vector function based on data from the prior eye treatments. The exemplary effective treatment vector employs an influence matrix which may allow improved refractive corrections to be generated so as to increase the overall accuracy of laser eye surgery (including LASIK, PRK, and the like), customized intraocular lenses (IOLs), refractive femtosecond treatments, and the like.

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.

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.

An improved applanation lens and method for use in an interface between a patient's eye and a surgical laser system does not discolor or lose light transmittance when subjected to gamma radiation. The improved applanation lens has an applanation surface configured to contact the eye upon application of a pressure. The lens is formed of high purity silicon dioxide (SiO2) with purity great enough to resist discoloration upon prolonged irradiation by high-energy radiation such as UV, x-rays, gamma rays or neutrons, and is preferably a fused silica.

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 method and system is described that greatly improves the safety and efficacy of ophthalmic laser surgery. The method and system are applicable to precise operations on a target subject to movement during the procedure. The system may comprise the following elements: (1) a user interface, (2) an imaging system, which may include a surgical microscope, (3) an automated tracking system that can follow the movements of an eye, (4) a laser, (5) a diagnostic system, and (6) a fast reliable safety means, for automatically interrupting the laser firing.

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 manual and automatic fluid control system and method for use in open and laparoscopic laser surgery and electrosurgery is disclosed. The system includes a manual mode along with several automatic modes which can effectuate both suction and irrigation, either individually or simultaneously. In the various automatic modes, the suction and / or irrigation is automatically activated during activation of a medical apparatus for laser surgery or electrosurgery without requiring separate activation from the surgeon or operating room staff. Several safety features for monitoring the fluid control system are also incorporated within the system such as fluid sensors for detecting the absence of irrigation fluid, pressure sensors and vacuum systems for monitoring fluid pressure, fluid sensors for monitoring fluid volume, and warning signals for detecting empty containers. All of the safety features are designed to automatically deactivate suction and / or irrigation means contained within the fluid control system upon detection of unsafe levels. Finally, specially designed suction / irrigation hand pieces are disclosed for use in connection with the fluid control system.

A device and method for steering a laser beam to a focal point in target tissue requires generating a laser beam. Diversions of the laser beam from a central beam path are minimized by a sequential arrangement of optical steering components. In order, the beam is first directed to the center of a z-scanning apparatus which will move the focal point in the medium in a z-direction. The beam is then passed to the center of a first galvanometric mirror which introduces focal point movements in the x-direction. A second galvanometric mirror then compensates for the x-direction movement by redirecting the beam to the center of a third galvanometric mirror where focal point movements in the y-direction are introduced.

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 system for adaptive laser scanning correction includes a laser scanner coupled to a controller. The controller develops control signals for the laser scanner for a directed scan pattern that is modified to compensate for a characteristic scan-pattern distortion introduced by the laser scanner. The laser scanner responds to the control signals to provide an actual scan pattern approaching a target scan-pattern shape. The system may be useful for ophthalmologic laser surgery and other applications requiring precise control over scan pattern shape and a high scanning speed.

An apparatus and method for ultrafast real-time optical imaging that can be used for imaging dynamic events such as microfluidics or laser surgery is provided. The apparatus and methods encode spatial information from a sample into a back reflection of a two-dimensional spectral brush that is generated with a two-dimensional disperser and a light source that is mapped in to the time domain with a temporal disperser. The temporal waveform is preferably captured by an optical detector, converted to an electrical signal that is digitized and processed to provide two dimensional and three dimensional images. The produced signals can be optically or electronically amplified. Detection may be improved with correlation matching against a database in the time domain or the spatial domain. Embodiments for endoscopy, microscopy and simultaneous imaging and laser ablation with a single fiber are illustrated.

Surgical method and apparatus for presbyopia correction and glaucoma by laser removal a portion of the sclera and / or ciliary tissue are disclosed. The disclosed preferred embodiments of the system consists of a beam spot controller, an articulated arm and an attached end-piece. The basic laser beam includes UV laser having wavelength ranges of (0.19-0.36) microns, generated from UV excimer lasers of ArF, XeCl or solid state lasers of Nd:YLF, Nd:YAG, Ti:sapphire with harmonic generation using nonlinear crystals. Presbyopia is treated by ablation of the treated surface tissue in predetermined patterns outside the limbus to increase the accommodation of the eye. Glaucoma is treated by decreasing of intra ocular pressure of the laser surgery.

A system and method are provided for fragmenting a crystalline lens, to facilitate its removal from the lens bag during an ophthalmic laser surgery. First, a predetermined pattern is used to make Laser Induced Optical Breakdown (LIOB) cuts that section the lens into asymmetrical, operational segments. At least one operational segment is then selected and softened with a plurality of compact LIOB cuts. Once softened, the selected segment is aspirated. The remaining operational segments are then subsequently removed. During a procedure, an imaging unit can monitor movements of the lens bag to ensure proper placement of the LIOB cuts on the lens.

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.

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 / cm.sup.2), 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.

Apparatus and methods are provided for interfacing a surgical laser with an eye using a patient interface device that minimizes aberrations through a combination of a contact lens surface positioning and a liquid medium between an anterior surface of the eye and the contact lens surface.