Treatment pattern monitor

• US 20110137300A1
• Filed: 12/07/2010
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Anton Hilger, Gerhard Youssefi
• Original Assignee: Anton Hilger, Gerhard Youssefi
• Inventors: Hilger, Anton, Youssefi, Gerhard
• Granted Patent: US 8,388,610 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/5
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00872 Cornea
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/0088 based on wavefront
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00882 based on topography
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/008 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00806 Correction of higher orders
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00827 Refractive correction, e.g. lenticle

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method for determining the applicability of a treatment pattern for manipulation of a cornea of an eye using a laser. The concept of the present invention is based on the determination of an actual volumetric profile based on a set of input data and a theoretical volumetric profile which is created independently based on only the basic optical parameters. On the basis of a comparison of the determined volumetric profiles it is determined whether the actual volumetric profile is within predetermined tolerances.

Claims

1. A method for determining the applicability of a treatment pattern for manipulation of a cornea of an eye using a laser, comprising the following steps:

(a) developing said treatment pattern using input data corresponding to a desired refractive correction;

(b) determining an actual volumetric profile based on said treatment pattern;

(c) determining a theoretical volumetric profile based on at least one of said input data by using a basic theoretical model; and

(d) comparing the actual volumetric profile with the theoretical volumetric profile to determine whether the actual volumetric profile is within specified tolerances on the basis of the theoretical volumetric profile.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the theoretical model uses a number of basic parameters, further comprising the step of determining a first theoretical volumetric profile when using said number of basic parameters of the theoretical model and determining a second theoretical volumetric profile using said theoretical model wherein at least one of said number of basic parameters is modified.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said actual volumetric profile is compared with said first theoretical volumetric profile which serves as a minimum estimator and wherein said actual volumetric profile is compared with said second theoretical volumetric profile which serves as a maximum estimator.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the modification of said at least one parameter is made to determine a limit of a potential over or under correction of the actual volumetric profile.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein said basic parameters are at least one of the maximum ablation depth, the central ablation depth, the treatment area, the ablation volume, the amount of correction in diopters of the volumetric pattern, the difference and/or ratio of a central ablation depth and an ablation depth in a defined area, or the difference and/or ratio of minimum or maximum ablation depth in defined areas.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining whether the actual volumetric profile is within specified tolerances further comprises determining whether the actual volumetric profile corresponds to the desired refractive correction.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the basic theoretical model is a toric or nontoric thin lens formula.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein an amount of correction in diopters and/or an optical zone of the thin lens formula is modified successively to approximate the theoretical volumetric profile to the actual volumetric profile.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the modification step of the amount of correction in diopters is one of ±

1.0 D, ±

0.5 D, ±

0.33 D or ±

0.25 D.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the modification step of the optical zone is one of 1.00 mm, 0.75 mm, 0.50 mm or 0.25 mm.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified tolerance is a fixed tolerance, preferably at least one of a tolerated deviation in sphere, cylinder, axis, and optical zone.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the specified tolerance is a minimal tolerance, preferably by optimizing the tolerated deviation in sphere, cylinder, axis and optical zone to provide the minimal deviation from the actual volumetric profile.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the method resides on a processor readable storage device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the processor readable storage device is a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic medium, optical medium, physical medium, RAM, PROM, EPROM, or FLASH-EPROM.

13-15. -15. (canceled)

18. A system for determining the applicability of a treatment pattern for manipulation of a cornea of an eye using a laser, comprising:

(a) first computer software receiving input data corresponding to a desired refractive correction and developing a treatment pattern from the input data;

(b) second computer software receiving the treatment pattern and developing an actual volumetric profile from the treatment pattern;

(c) third computer software receiving a theoretical volumetric profile wherein the theoretical volumetric profile is based on the input data and developed from a basic theoretical model; and

(d) fourth computer software programmed to compare the actual volumetric profile with the theoretical volumetric profile to determine whether the actual volumetric profile is within specified tolerances on the basis of the theoretical volumetric profile.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the theoretical model uses a number of basic parameters, further comprising a fifth computer software determining a first theoretical volumetric profile when using the basic parameters of the theoretical model and determining a second theoretical volumetric profile using said theoretical model wherein at least one of the number of basic parameters is modified.

20. The system of claim 19, said fifth computer software comparing the actual volumetric profile with the first theoretical volumetric profile which serves as a minimum estimator and comparing the actual volumetric profile with the second theoretical volumetric profile which serves as a maximum estimator.

21. The system of claim 20, said fifth computer software modifying at least one of the basic parameters to determine a limit of a potential over or under correction of the actual volumetric profile.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the basic parameters are at least one of the maximum ablation depth, the central ablation depth, the treatment area, the ablation volume, the amount of correction in diopters of the volumetric pattern, the difference and/or ratio of a central ablation depth and an ablation depth in a defined area, or the difference and/or ratio of minimum or maximum ablation depth in defined areas.

23. The system of claim 18, said fourth computer software determining whether the actual volumetric profile corresponds to the desired refractive correction.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the basic theoretical model is a toric or nontoric thin lens formula.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising a sixth computer software successively modifying an amount of correction in diopters and/or an optical zone of the thin lens formula to approximate the theoretical volumetric profile to the actual volumetric profile.

26. The system of claim 25, wherein the amount of correction in diopters is one of ±

1.0 D, ±

0.5 D, ±

0.33 D or ±

0.25 D.

27. The system of claim 25, wherein the modification of the optical zone is one of 1.00 mm, 0.75 mm, 0.50 mm or 0.25 mm.

28. The system of claim 18, wherein the specified tolerance is a fixed tolerance, preferably at least one of a tolerated deviation in sphere, cylinder, axis, and optical zone.

29. The system of claim 18, wherein the specified tolerance is a minimal tolerance, preferably by optimizing the tolerated deviation in sphere, cylinder, axis and optical zone to provide the minimal deviation from the actual volumetric profile.

30. The system of claim 18, wherein said computer system is a laser treatment system.

31. The system of claim 18, wherein said computer system includes a treatment calculator.

32. The system of claim 31, wherein the treatment calculator determines a treatment pattern from diagnostic data.

33. One or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on said processor readable storage devices, said processor readable code for programming one or more processors to execute a method for determining the applicability of a treatment pattern for manipulation of a cornea of an eye using a laser, comprising the following steps:

(a) developing said treatment pattern using input data corresponding to a desired refractive correction;

(b) determining an actual volumetric profile based on said treatment pattern;

(c) determining a theoretical volumetric profile based on at least one of said input data by using a basic theoretical model; and

(d) comparing the actual volumetric profile with the theoretical volumetric profile to determine whether the actual volumetric profile is within specified tolerances on the basis of the theoretical volumetric profile.

34. The processor readable storage device of claim 33, wherein the theoretical model uses a number of basic parameters, further comprising the step of determining a first theoretical volumetric profile when using said number of basic parameters of the theoretical model and determining a second theoretical volumetric profile using said theoretical model wherein at least one of said number of basic parameters is modified.

35. The processor readable storage device of claim 34, wherein said actual volumetric profile is compared with said first theoretical volumetric profile which serves as a minimum estimator and wherein said actual volumetric profile is compared with said second theoretical volumetric profile which serves as a maximum estimator.

36. The processor readable storage device of claim 35, wherein the modification of said at least one parameter is made to determine a limit of a potential over or under correction of the actual volumetric profile.

37. The processor readable storage device of claim 34, wherein said basic parameters are at least one of the maximum ablation depth, the central ablation depth, the treatment area, the ablation volume, the amount of correction in diopters of the volumetric pattern, the difference and/or ratio of a central ablation depth and an ablation depth in a defined area, or the difference and/or ratio of minimum or maximum ablation depth in defined areas.

38. The processor readable storage device of claim 33, wherein the step of determining whether the actual volumetric profile is within specified tolerances further comprises determining whether the actual volumetric profile corresponds to the desired refractive correction.

39. The processor readable storage device of claim 35, wherein the basic theoretical model is a toric or nontoric thin lens formula.

40. The processor readable storage device of claim 39, wherein an amount of correction in diopters and/or an optical zone of the thin lens formula is modified successively to approximate the theoretical volumetric profile to the actual volumetric profile.

41. The processor readable storage device of claim 40, wherein the modification step of the amount of correction in diopters is one of ±

1.0 D, ±

0.5 D, ±

0.33 D or ±

0.25 D.

42. The processor readable storage device of claim 40, wherein the modification step of the optical zone is one of 1.00 mm, 0.75 mm, 0.50 mm or 0.25 mm.

43. The processor readable storage device of claim 33, wherein the specified tolerance is a fixed tolerance, preferably at least one of a tolerated deviation in sphere, cylinder, axis, and optical zone.

44. The processor readable storage device of claim 33, wherein the specified tolerance is a minimal tolerance, preferably by optimizing the tolerated deviation in sphere, cylinder, axis and optical zone to provide the minimal deviation from the actual volumetric profile.

45. The processor readable storage device of claim 33, wherein the processor readable storage device is a floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, CD-ROM, DVD, magnetic medium, optical medium, physical medium, RAM, PROM, EPROM, or FLASH-EPROM.