An apparatus for laser surgery on a cornea for correcting the refractive error of a patient's eye by removing away a part of the cornea by a laser beam. The apparatus has a first set device for setting the removing area in removal of stroma of the cornea, a second set device for setting the shape of the postoperation cornea, a device for restricting laser irradiation to the removing area determined by the second set device, a device for detecting whether removal of the epithelium from the cornea is accomplished, a device for changing a mode to remove away the epithelium to a mode to remove the stroma of the cornea based on detected results by the detecting device, and a control device for determining the area to be removed away on the epithelium based on the removing area set by the first set device in a mode for removing the epithelium of the cornea and driving the beam restricting device, and then for controlling the beam restricting device based on the set data by the second set device in a mode for removing the stroma of the cornea, thereby to remove away the stroma from the cornea in a desired shape.
An ophthalmological laser surgery system having a laser, associated elements for delivering an optical beam from the laser to a patient eye location, a control unit for controlling the operation of the system and a system input/output device, is enabled by a patient data card. The data card originally contains both patient background and system control information, which is transferred to the control unit via the input/output device. During system operation, newly generated information, such as laser beam power, is stored in the data card to provide an independent record of the surgical procedure actually performed. After one use, the data card is invalidated to prevent further use.
A method for selectively ablating targeted biological material uses real-time optical feedback control to measure incandescent photoemissions emitted from irradiated biological material and, based on the measured incandescent photoemissions, adjust laser pulse parameters to selectively ablate targeted biological material. Laser pulses are directed to a target area of the subject using a delivery system. During each laser pulse, incandescent photoemissions emitted from the biological material having a wavelength of less than that of the laser pulses are measured. Based on such measured incandescent photoemissions, at least one of the wavelenght, pulse duration and energy level of each laser pulse are adjusted in order to selectively ablate targeted soft or hard biological material.
A corneal topographer based on conoscopic holography with partially coherent illumination. Corneal topographic measurements can be accomplished at a processing rate higher than the standard video rate of 30 Hz. The conoscopic measurements can be used in an opto-electronic servo to control a photorefractive keratectomy system in real time for an improved accuracy in laser ablation of a corneal surface.
A method for enhancing the accuracy of PRK wherein a UV power meter is placed in the optical path of the laser beam. In one preferred embodiment, the power meter is placed distal to the last optical element so that any optical degradation that affects laser performance is taken into account. The meter consists of a UV-B cube and a pulnix camera with a software package. The meter is used to monitor the fluence of each laser pulse. The power meter is used to size each pulse and to quantify the energy in each pulse. Sensing means is employed to measure intraoperative pulse-to-pulse energy during photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), using said data in conjunction with the location of the pulse within the ablation zone to determine the cumulative energy thus being achieved, and adjusting said laser to treat more or less at each point based upon the difference between the ideal cumulative energy map and the observed cumulative energy map derived from intraoperative power determination.
The invention features methods and systems for treating inflammatory, proliferative skin disorders, such as psoriasis, with ultraviolet phototherapy. The methods and systems use optical techniques to scan a patient's skin, designate areas of affected skin, and selectively deliver high doses of phototherapeutic ultraviolet radiation to the designated areas. To insure that only affected areas of skin affected are designated for the high doses of UV radiation, the methods and systems use one or more optical diagnostics that relate to independent physiological features of affected skin.
