FREE FLOATING PATIENT INTERFACE FOR LASER SURGERY SYSTEM

• US 20140276671A1
• Filed: 02/26/2014
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AMO Development LLC (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: OptiMedica Corporation (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Gooding, Phillip
• Granted Patent: US 10,751,217 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/4
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00844 Feedback systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2009/00897 Scanning mechanisms or algorithms
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00804 Refractive treatments
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 9/00836 Flap cutting
• 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: B23K 2103/32 Material from living organisms, e.g. skins
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 2103/50 Inorganic material, e.g. metals, not provided for in B23K2103/02 – B23K2103/26
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/0006 taking account of the properties of the material involved B23K26/32, B23K26/40 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/0624 using ultrashort pulses, i.e. pulses of 1ns or less
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/082 Scanning systems, i.e. devices involving movement of the laser beam relative to the laser head
• CPC Class Codes: B23K 26/38 by boring or cutting

Abstract

A patient interface includes an eye interface device, a scanner, a first support assembly, and a beam source. The eye interface device is configured to interface with an eye of a patient. The scanner is configured to be coupled with the eye interface device and operable to scan an electromagnetic radiation beam in at least two dimensions in an eye interfaced with the eye interface device. The scanner and the eye interface device move in conjunction with movement of the eye. The first support assembly supports the scanner so as to accommodate relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly parallel so as to accommodate movement of the eye. The beam source generates the electromagnetic radiation beam. The electromagnetic radiation beam propagates from the beam source to the scanner along an optical path having an optical path length that varies in response to movement of the eye.

Claims

1. A method of accommodating patient movement in a laser surgery system, the method comprising:

using a first support assembly to support a scanner so as to accommodate relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly so as to accommodate patient movement, the scanner being operable to controllably scan an electromagnetic radiation beam and configured to be coupled with a patient so that the scanner moves in conjunction with movement of the patient;

using a beam source to generate the electromagnetic radiation beam; and

propagating the electromagnetic radiation beam from the beam source to the scanner along an optical path having an optical path length that changes in response to patient movement.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using a second support assembly to support the first support assembly so as to accommodate relative movement between the first support assembly and the second support assembly so as to accommodate patient movement; and

using the first support assembly to support a first reflector configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation beam so as to propagate to the scanner along a portion of the optical path.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

using a base assembly to support the second support assembly so as to accommodate relative movement between the second support assembly and the base assembly so as to accommodate patient movement; and

using the second support assembly to support a second reflector configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation beam to propagate along a portion of the optical path so as to be incident on the first reflector.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly is a translation in a first direction;

the relative movement between the first support assembly and the second support assembly is a translation in a second direction that is transverse to the first direction; and

the relative movement between the second support assembly and the base assembly is a translation in a third direction that is transverse to each of the first and second directions.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein:

the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and

the third direction is perpendicular to each of the first and second directions.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein one of the first, second, and third directions is vertically oriented, the method further comprising inhibiting at least one of (1) gravity-induced movement of the scanner in the vertical direction and (2) transfer of gravity-induced force to the patient.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the third direction is vertically oriented and each of the first and second directions is horizontally oriented.

8. The method of claim 3, wherein at least one of (1) the relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly, (2) the relative movement between the first support assembly and the second support assembly, and (3) the relative movement between the second support assembly and the base assembly is a relative rotation.

9. The method of claim 3, further comprising using the base assembly to support a third reflector configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation beam to propagate along a portion of the optical path so as to be incident on the second reflector.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanner is operable to scan the electromagnetic radiation beam in at least two dimensions.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanner is operable to:

focus the electromagnetic radiation beam to a focal point; and

scan the focal point in three dimensions.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the electromagnetic radiation beam comprises a series of laser pulses configured to modify eye tissue.

13. The method of claim 3, further comprising monitoring at least one of a relative position and a relative orientation of at least one of the group consisting of (1) between the scanner and the first support assembly, (2) between the first support assembly and the second support assembly, and (3) between the second support assembly and the base assembly.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the scanner is configured to be coupled with an eye of the patient and to controllably scan a focal point of the electromagnetic radiation beam within a tissue of the eye.

15. The method of claim 3, further comprising inhibiting relative movement during positioning of the scanner relative to the patient between at least one of (1) the scanner and the first support assembly, (2) the first support assembly and the second support assembly, and (3) the second support assembly and the base assembly.

16. A patient interface assembly for a laser eye surgery system, the patient interface assembly comprising:

an eye interface device configured to interface with an eye of a patient;

a scanner is configured to be coupled with the eye interface device and operable to scan an electromagnetic radiation beam in at least two dimensions in an eye interfaced with the eye interface device, the scanner and the eye interface device moving in conjunction with movement of the eye;

a first support assembly that supports the scanner so as to accommodate relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly parallel so as to accommodate movement of the eye; and

a beam source that generates the electromagnetic radiation beam,

wherein the electromagnetic radiation beam propagates from the beam source to the scanner along an optical path having an optical path length that varies in response to movement of the eye.

17. The patient interface assembly of claim 16, further comprising:

a second support assembly that supports the first support assembly so as to accommodate relative movement between the first support assembly and the second support assembly so as to accommodate movement of the eye; and

a first reflector supported by the first support assembly and configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation beam to propagate to the scanner along a portion of the optical path.

18. The patient interface assembly of claim 17, further comprising:

a base assembly that supports the second support assembly so as to accommodate relative movement between the second support assembly and the base assembly so as to accommodate movement of the eye; and

a second reflector supported by the second support assembly and configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation beam to propagate along a portion of the optical path so as to be incident on the first reflector.

19. The patient interface assembly of claim 18, wherein:

the relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly is a translation in a first direction;

the relative movement between the first support assembly and the second support assembly is a translation in a second direction that is transverse to the first direction; and

the relative movement between the second support assembly and the base assembly is a translation in a third direction that is transverse to each of the first and second directions.

20. The patient interface assembly of claim 19, wherein:

the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction; and

the third direction is perpendicular to each of the first and second directions.

21. The patient interface assembly of claim 19, further comprising a counter-balance mechanism coupled with the scanner and configured to inhibit at least one of (1) gravity-induced movement of the scanner in the vertical direction and (2) transfer of gravity-induced force to the eye.

22. The patient interface assembly of claim 21, wherein the third direction is vertically oriented and each of the first and second directions is horizontally oriented.

23. The patient interface assembly of claim 18, wherein at least one of (1) the relative movement between the scanner and the first support assembly, (2) the relative movement between the first support assembly and the second support assembly, and (3) the relative movement between the second support assembly and the base assembly is a relative rotation.

24. The patient interface assembly of claim 18, further comprising a third reflector supported by the base assembly and configured to reflect the electromagnetic radiation beam to propagate along a portion of the optical path so as to be incident on the second reflector.

25. The patient interface assembly of claim 16, wherein the scanner is operable to scan the electromagnetic radiation beam in at least two dimensions.

26. The patient interface assembly of claim 16, wherein the scanner is operable to:

focus the electromagnetic radiation beam to a focal point; and

scan the focal point in three dimensions.

27. The patient interface assembly of claim 16, wherein the electromagnetic radiation beam comprises a series of laser pulses configured to modify eye tissue.

28. The patient interface assembly of claim 18, further comprising at least one sensor configured to monitor relative position of at least one of the group consisting of (1) between the scanner and the first support assembly, (2) between the first support assembly and the second support assembly, and (3) between the second support assembly and the base assembly.

29. The patient interface assembly of claim 16, further comprising an objective lens assembly disposed between and coupled with the scanner and the eye interface device, the electromagnetic radiation beam propagating from the scanner to pass through the objective lens assembly and then from the objective lens assembly through the eye interface device.

30. The patient interface assembly of claim 16, wherein the scanner comprises a z-scan device and an xy-scan device, the z-scan device being operable to change a depth of the focal point in the eye, the xy-scan device being operable to scan the focal point in two dimensions transverse to the propagation direction of the electromagnetic radiation beam.

31. The patient interface assembly of claim 18, further comprising at least one device configured to inhibit relative movement during positioning of the scanner relative to the patient between at least one of (1) the scanner and the first support assembly, (2) the first support assembly and the second support assembly, and (3) the second support assembly and the base assembly.