METHOD AND APPARATUS TO GUIDE LASER CORNEAL SURGERY WITH OPTICAL MEASUREMENT
First Claim
1. A system for performing corneal surgery, comprising:
- an optical coherence tomography device for mapping a cornea tomograph to a predetermined precision; and
an ablative laser linked to the optical coherence tomography device, wherein actions of the ablative laser are guided by a treatment plan based on the cornea tomograph obtained by the corneal mapping device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is used to map the surface elevation and thickness of the cornea. The OCT maps are used to plan laser procedures for the treatment of an irregular, opacified or weakened cornea, and in the treatment of refractive errors. In the excimer laser phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) procedure, the OCT data is used to plan a map of ablation depth needed to restore a smooth optical surface. In the excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy procedure, OCT mapping of epithelial thickness is used to achieve clean laser epithelial removal. In femtosecond laser anterior keratoplasty procedure, OCT data is used to plan the depth of femtosecond laser dissection to remove an anterior layer of the cornea, leaving a smooth recipient bed of uniform thickness to receive a disk of donated corneal tissue. The linkage of an OCT system to a precise laser surgical system enables the performance of new procedures that are safer, less invasive and produce faster visual recovery than conventional surgical procedures.
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Citations
48 Claims
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1. A system for performing corneal surgery, comprising:
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an optical coherence tomography device for mapping a cornea tomograph to a predetermined precision; and
an ablative laser linked to the optical coherence tomography device, wherein actions of the ablative laser are guided by a treatment plan based on the cornea tomograph obtained by the corneal mapping device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An eye surgery system, comprising:
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a corneal thickness mapping device for generating a corneal thickness map; and
an ablative laser linked to the corneal thickness mapping device, wherein actions of the ablative laser are guided by a treatment plan based on the corneal thickness map obtained by the corneal thickness mapping device. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An eye surgery system, comprising:
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a optical coherence tomography device for mapping the corneal thickness of a subject; and
an ablative laser linked to the optical coherence tomography device, wherein actions of the ablative laser are guided by a treatment plan based on the corneal thickness map derived from the optical coherence tomography measurements. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for performing transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy, comprising:
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obtaining a epithelial thickness map of a subject;
determining an ablation map based on the epithelial thickness map; and
removing epithelium tissue of the cornea with an excimer laser according to the ablation map. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 47, 48)
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32. A method for performing laser phototherapeutic keratectomy, comprising the steps of:
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a. obtaining a tomograph of the cornea;
b. generating a map of the cornea based on the tomograph, wherein the map comprise information of corneal thickness or anterior elevation of the cornea at a precision of at least 2 microns;
c. computing a treatment plan based on the cornea thickness map, wherein the treatment plan comprises ablation patterns to be performed by a laser; and
d. ablating the cornea with a ablative laser according to the ablation pattern of the treatment plan. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A method for performing femtosecond laser anterior keratoplasty, comprising the steps of:
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(1) obtaining a tomograph of the cornea of a subject with optical coherence tomography;
(2) converting the optical coherence tomograph into a map of corneal thickness;
(3) designing a laser dissection treatment plan base on the corneal thickness map;
(4) performing intrastromal dissection according to the treatment plan using a femtosecond laser;
(5) removing dissected anterior corneal tissues to leave a recipient bed; and
(6) replacing the removed tissues with a disk of donated corneal tissue. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41)
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42. A method for performing laser anterior keratoplasty, comprising:
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preparing a donor cornea by dissecting with an ablative laser a portion of the anterior cornea which defines a donor disk having a tapered edge around the disk, wherein the dissection is guided by a treatment plan based on a corneal thickness map of the donor;
preparing a recipient cornea by dissecting with an ablative laser a portion of the anterior cornea to form a recipient bed having a substantially complementary edge shape to the donor disk, wherein the dissection is guided by a treatment plan based on a corneal thickness map of the recipient; and
applying the donor disk to the recipient bed to complete drafting of the donor material, wherein the edge of the donor disk and the edge of the recipient bed are designed such that they form complementary curves. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification