EYE THERAPY SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
- positioning a distal end of an applicator at or proximate to a surface of an eye;
supplying an amount of energy from an energy source to the applicator to apply therapy to the eye, a first portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being reflected from the distal end of the applicator;
detecting a signal corresponding to the reflected energy; and
determining an amount of contact based on the signal.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods improve operation of an applicator that delivers heat-generating energy to an eye as a part of an eye therapy. For example, reflected power may be measured to determine whether sufficient contact has been established between the applicator and the eye for accurate and precise delivery of energy to the eye. In addition, at least one of forward and reflected power may be measured to monitor the application of coolant pulses that control the generation of heat in the eye when the applicator delivers energy to the eye. Further, the forward and reflected power may be measured to determine an efficiency of energy transfer or an impedance mismatch. Based on the efficiency of energy transfer or the impedance mismatch, an adjustable parameter of a tuning element may be modified.
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Citations
81 Claims
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1. A method for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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positioning a distal end of an applicator at or proximate to a surface of an eye; supplying an amount of energy from an energy source to the applicator to apply therapy to the eye, a first portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being reflected from the distal end of the applicator; detecting a signal corresponding to the reflected energy; and determining an amount of contact based on the signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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positioning a distal end of an applicator at or proximate to an eye; supplying an amount of energy to the applicator from an energy source to apply therapy to the eye, a first portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being reflected from the distal end; supplying a coolant pulse to the eye; and detecting a signal corresponding to at least one of the energy supplied to the applicator and the energy reflected from the distal end, the signal further corresponding to the coolant pulse. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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supplying an amount of energy from an energy source to a distal end of an applicator to apply therapy to an eye, a first portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being reflected from the distal end; detecting a forward signal corresponding to the energy supplied to the applicator; detecting a reflected signal corresponding to the reflected energy; determining an efficiency of energy transfer based on the forward signal and the reflected signal; and based on the efficiency of energy transfer, modifying at least one adjustable parameter of a tuning element corresponding to the applicator. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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supplying an amount of energy from an energy source to a distal end of an applicator to apply therapy to an eye, a first portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy supplied to the applicator being reflected from the distal end; detecting a forward signal corresponding to the energy supplied to the applicator; detecting a reflected signal corresponding to the reflected energy; determining an impedance mismatch between the eye and the applicator based on the forward signal and the reflected signal; and based on the impedance mismatch, modifying at least one adjustable parameter of a tuning element corresponding to the applicator. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A system for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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an energy source; an applicator for applying therapy to an eye, the applicator having a distal end, the applicator being configured to receive an amount of energy from the energy source, a first portion of the energy received by the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy received by the applicator being reflected from the distal end of the applicator; and a dual directional coupler configured to detect a signal corresponding to the reflected energy, the signal further corresponding to an amount of contact between the distal end and the eye. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. A system for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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an energy source; an applicator for applying therapy to an eye, the applicator having a distal end, the applicator being configured to receive an amount of energy from the energy source, a first portion of the energy received by the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy received by the applicator being reflected from the distal end of the applicator; a coolant delivery system operable to deliver coolant to cool the eye; and a dual directional coupler configured to detect at least one of the energy received by the applicator and the energy reflected from the distal end, the signal further corresponding to the coolant pulse. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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61. A system for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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an energy source; an applicator for applying therapy to an eye, the applicator having a distal end, the applicator being configured to receive an amount of energy from the energy source, a first portion of the energy received by the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy received by the applicator being reflected from the distal end of the applicator; a dual directional coupler configured to detect a forward signal corresponding to the energy received by the applicator and a reflected signal corresponding to the reflected energy; a tuning element having at least one adjustable parameter; and one or more controllers configured to determine an efficiency of energy transfer based on the forward signal and the reflected signal and configured to cause the at least one adjustable parameter to be modified based on the efficiency of energy transfer. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71)
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72. A system for treating an eye disorder, comprising:
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an energy source; an applicator for applying therapy to an eye, the applicator having a distal end, the applicator being configured to receive an amount of energy from the energy source, a first portion of the energy received by the applicator being transmitted through the distal end to the eye and a second portion of the energy received by the applicator being reflected from the distal end of the applicator; a dual directional coupler configured to detect a forward signal corresponding to the energy received by the applicator and a reflected signal corresponding to the reflected energy; a tuning element having at least one adjustable parameter; and one or more controllers configured to determine an impedance mismatch between the eye and the applicator based on the forward signal and the reflected signal and configured to cause the at least one adjustable parameter to be modified based on the impedance mismatch. - View Dependent Claims (73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81)
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Specification