SURGICAL PROCEDURES USING INSTRUMENT TO BOUNDARY SPACING INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM REAL-TIME DIAGNOSTIC SCAN DATA
First Claim
1. A method for an improved phacoemulsification procedure, comprising:
- providing a phacoemulsification instrument including a distal working end configured to be inserted through an opening in the anterior region of an eye'"'"'s lens capsule;
processing diagnostic scan data for at least a portion of the lens capsule and the working end of the phacoemulsification instrument;
providing a signal corresponding to a calculated separation distance information from an analysis of the diagnostic scan data and the distal working end of the phacoemulsification instrument during the course of the phacoemulsification procedure, wherein during the course of the phacoemulsification procedure, the diagnostic scan data is undated to provide the calculated separation signal in real time.
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Abstract
Specific embodiments of the invention are directed to improved surgical procedures involving the use of processed non-visual three-dimensional data (i.e. diagnostic scan data) to provide a surgeon with additional guidance (i.e. more than that generally obtained from visual observation of the working area) concerning the distance separating a working end of a surgical instrument and the posterior portion of a target tissue. Separation information may be used to aid the surgeon in minimizing the risk of unintended penetration of adjacent tissue with the working end of the instrument. Some embodiments provide for the visual and/or auditory conveyance of distance information to the surgeon. Additional embodiments provide for overlaying visual representations of selected three-dimensional structure information (e.g. depths of troughs cut into the lens) with the real surface feature images viewed by the surgeon.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for an improved phacoemulsification procedure, comprising:
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providing a phacoemulsification instrument including a distal working end configured to be inserted through an opening in the anterior region of an eye'"'"'s lens capsule; processing diagnostic scan data for at least a portion of the lens capsule and the working end of the phacoemulsification instrument; providing a signal corresponding to a calculated separation distance information from an analysis of the diagnostic scan data and the distal working end of the phacoemulsification instrument during the course of the phacoemulsification procedure, wherein during the course of the phacoemulsification procedure, the diagnostic scan data is undated to provide the calculated separation signal in real time. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A medical procedure for penetrating, or removing target tissue, to a desired thickness from a posterior or distal boundary of the target tissue without penetrating the boundary with a working end of a surgical instrument, the procedure comprising:
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forming at least one opening in a covering tissue in proximity to the anterior surface of the target tissue to provide access to said anterior surface of the target tissue; inserting a working end of surgical instrument through the opening in the cover tissue to contact the target tissue; obtaining diagnostic scan data for the target tissue, the posterior boundary, and the working end of the surgical instrument; analyzing the diagnostic scan data to obtain a separation distance between the working end of the surgical instrument and the posterior boundary region; and operating the surgical instrument while viewing the target tissue, the working end of the surgical instrument and while receiving separation distance information from the analysis of the diagnostic scan data, wherein during the course of the procedure, the diagnostic scan data, the analysis of the data, and the receiving of the separation distance information are updated a plurality of times. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification