SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING AN OCULAR IRRADIATION PROCEDURE

• US 20090182310A1
• Filed: 02/06/2008
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Carl Zeiss Meditec Incorporated (Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung)
• Original Assignee: Oraya Therapeutics, Inc.
• Inventors: Gertner, Michael, Herron, Matt, Arnoldussen, Mark
• Granted Patent: US 8,506,558 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/4
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0231 for eye surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00863 Retina
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00865 Sclera
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00872 Cornea
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00895 Presbyopia
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/008 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00804 Refractive treatments
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00819 with photoablatable masks
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00821 for coagulation
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/009 Auxiliary devices making contact with the eyeball and coupling in laser light, e.g. goniolenses apparatus for eye examination A61B3/0008
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 5/1017 Treatment of the eye, e.g. for "macular degeneration"

Abstract

A method and system for performing an ocular irradiation procedure on a patient'"'"'s eye is disclosed. The system includes a head support for supporting the patient'"'"'s head, an eye-contact device attachable to the front portion of the patient'"'"'s eye, to stabilize the position of the eye; and a position detector for determining the position of the contact device in the external coordinate system. A source of a collimated electromagnetic radiation beam in the system is controlled by a beam-positioning assembly for positioning the beam source such that the beam, when activated, is aimed along a selected path at a selected coordinate in the external coordinate system corresponding to a selected target region in the patient'"'"'s eye.

Claims

1. A system for performing an ocular irradiation procedure on a patient'"'"'s eye, comprising

(a) a head support for supporting the patient'"'"'s head,

(b) an eye-contact device attachable to the front portion of the patient'"'"'s eye, to stabilize the position of the eye relative to the eye-contact device,

(c) means for determining the position of the patient'"'"'s eye, with such stabilized with respect to the contact device, and with the patient'"'"'s head supported in the head support, in an external coordinate system,

(d) a source of a collimated irradiation beam, and

(e) a beam-positioning assembly for positioning the beam source in the external coordinate system such that the beam, when activated, is aimed along a selected path at a selected coordinate in the external coordinate system corresponding to a selected target region in the patient'"'"'s eye.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the eye-contact device includes a concave contact surface adapted to be placed against the front surface of a patient'"'"'s eye, an outer surface, port in fluid communication with the contact surface, by which a negative pressure can be applied between the eye and the contact surface, to stabilize the position of the eye with respect to the contact device, and a connector carried on the outer surface of the device, and the system further includes a biasing mechanism operatively connected to the connector of the contact device for biasing the eye-contact device against the eye with a force sufficient to the hold the contact device against the eye, when the eye is stabilized with respect to the device by application of a negative pressure between the eye and the device'"'"'s contact surface.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said determining means includes a position detector for determining the position of the contact device, and thus the position of the patient'"'"'s eye attached to the contact device, in the external coordinate system.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the position detector includes a plurality of beam elements mounted on the contact device, for directing beams in accordance with the position and orientation of the beam elements, sensors for detecting the directions of the beams, and a processor for determining from the detected beam directions, the position and orientation of the contact device in the external coordinate system.

5. The system of claim 3, which further includes an eye-positioning assembly for moving the eye-contact device to place the device at a selected position in the external coordinate system, and the position detector is operable to determine the position of the contact device in the external coordinate system, with such placed at said selected position.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the eye-positioning assembly is operable to adjust the angular position of the contact member with respect to the patient'"'"'s head, and the position detector detects an angle of a beam emanating from the contact member.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the eye-positioning assembly includes an arm that is pivotally attached to the connector of the eye-contact device, and an arm control mechanism for controlling the movement of the arm in at least one direction in the external coordinate system, and the position detector is operable to determine the position of the contact device in the external coordinate system from the position of the eye-positioning assembly arm in the external coordinate system.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein said determining means includes a reference-beam light source operatively connected to the irradiation-beam source, for producing a reference light beam along a path coincident with the collimated irradiation beam produced by the irradiation beam source, and said beam-positioning assembly is operable to place the irradiation beam source at a position such that the collimated light beam is aimed at the selected target region of patient'"'"'s eye.

9. The system of claim 1, which further includes a vacuum source operable to apply a negative pressure of between about 20-50 mm Hg to the contact device contact surface.

10. The system of claim 1, for use in treating macular degeneration in a patient eye, wherein the beam source is a source of soft collimated x-rays, and the beam-position assembly is operable to position the beam source to direct a collimated x-ray beam at the macular region of the eye, along a path through an outer side region of the eye that makes an angle with an axis normal to the cornea of the eye, between about 5 and 45 degrees.

20. The system of claim 2, wherein the eye contact member is a curved structure which is centered on a center axis extending through the contact member, substantially normal thereto, and said connector is disposed along the center axis of the contact member.

21. The device of claim 2, wherein the eye contact member is a curved structure which is centered on a center axis extending through the contact member, substantially normal thereto, and said connector is disposed along an axis offset from the center axis.

22. The device of claim 2, wherein the connector is detachably coupled to the biasing mechanism, allowing the mechanism to break away from the eye-contact member when an above-threshold force is applied by or to the eye.

11. A method for performing an ocular irradiation procedure on a patient'"'"'s eye, comprising

(a) supporting the patient'"'"'s head in a head support,

(b) attaching to the front of the patient'"'"'s eye, an eye-contact device effective to stabilize the position of the eye relative to the contact device,

(c) with the eye-contact device placed to a selected position, and with the patient'"'"'s head supported in the head support, determining the position of a selected target region of the patient'"'"'s eye in an external coordinate system,

(d) positioning a source of a collimated irradiating beam in the external coordinate system such that the source beam, when activated, is aimed along a selected path at a selected coordinate in the external coordinate system corresponding to a selected target region in the patient'"'"'s eye, and

(e) activating the beam source.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said attaching step (b) includes placing against the front portion of the patient'"'"'s eye, a concave contacting surface of an eye-contact device, and applying a negative pressure between the eye and the contact surface, thus to stabilize the position of the eye with respect to the contact device, and which further includes biasing the contact device against the eye with a force sufficient to the hold the contact device against the eye, wherein the position of the eye is stabilized with respect to the device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said biasing includes biasing the eye-contact member against the eye with a force of between 1-25 grams.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein said applying includes a negative pressure to the contact device of between 20 mm Hg and about 50 mm Hg.

15. The method of claim 11, which further includes, after attaching the eye to the eye-contact device, moving the contact device to place the device at a selected position in the external coordinate system, and step (c) includes determining the position of the ocular device in the external coordinate system, with such placed at its said selected position.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein moving the eye-contact device to place the device at a selected position in the external coordinate system includes directing an incident light beam onto a reflective surface of the contact member, detecting the angle of the beam reflected from said surface, and adjusting the angular position of the contact member until the incident light beam is coincident with the reflected light beam.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the position of a selected target region of the patient'"'"'s eye in an external coordinate system includes aiming a collimated light beam along a path coincident with the collimated electromagnetic beam produced by the beam source and positioning the light beam until it is aimed at the selected target region of patient'"'"'s eye.

18. The method of claim 11, for use in treating macular degeneration in a patient eye, wherein step (d) includes positioning a collimated x-ray beam source to direct a collimated x-ray beam at the macular region of the eye, along a selected path through an outer side region of the eye that makes an angle with an axis normal to and through the center of the cornea of the eye, of between about 5 and 45 degrees.

19. The method of claim 18, which includes repeating steps (d) and (e) at each of a plurality of different paths of the collimated x-ray beam.