The present invention provides an illumination chopper which allows a user to operate on the nucleus of a crystalline lens with a small piece while securing visibility through a chopper which is mounted at one end of an illuminator to form a predetermined angle with the illuminator.

Embodiments of this invention generally relate to ophthalmic laser procedures and, more particularly, to systems and methods for creating synchronized three-dimensional laser incisions. In an embodiment, an ophthalmic surgical laser system comprises a laser delivery system for delivering a pulsed laser beam to a target in a subject's eye, an XY-scan device to deflect the pulsed laser beam, a Z-scan device to modify a depth of a focus of the pulsed laser beam, and a controller configured to synchronize an oscillation of the XY-scan device and an oscillation of the Z-device to form an angled three-dimensional laser tissue dissection.

A laser system for performing ophthalmologic procedures comprising a pulsed laser for emitting laser pulses, a focusing optics for generating at least one focal point in the anterior region of a patient's eye, a deflection device for varying the position of the focal point in the anterior region of the patient's eye, and a control unit for controlling the deflection device. The pulsed laser has a pulse duration in the range of nanoseconds, and the laser system is designed as a handheld device.

A system for therapy of the eye by treating tissue with therapeutic radiation using nonlinear interaction. A laser device is provided, which delivers the therapeutic radiation. The therapeutic radiation is focused by a focusing device in an image field, and xy scanners and z scanners shift the focus laterally and longitudinally within a treatment volume. The therapeutic radiation is either a second short pulse radiation or a first short pulse radiation, each of which have a spectral centroid within a wavelength range defined by the short pulse properties. The system is particularly corrected with regard to longitudinal chromatic aberrations and lateral chromatic aberrations such that the spectral characteristic curves of the two aberrations each have a local extreme within the wavelength ranges, and a certain tolerance within the wavelength ranges is not exceeded, therefore the characteristic curves are very shallow.

In a general aspect, a customized surgical profile is validated for execution on a surgical system. In some aspects, a customized ophthalmic surgical profile, which includes a surgical pattern and at least one parameter associated with the surgical pattern, is obtained. A pattern definition file executable by a laser-based ophthalmic surgical system is generated based on the customized ophthalmic surgical profile. Execution of the customized ophthalmic surgical profile on the laser-based ophthalmic surgical system is simulated based on the pattern definition file, and the pattern definition file is validated based on an output of the simulation. The validated pattern definition file is provided for execution on the laser-based ophthalmic surgical system.

A laser system that includes a laser source emitting a laser beam along an axis and a keratometer. The keratometer includes a first set of individual light sources that are equally spaced from one another along a first ring and that direct a first light toward an eye and a second set of individual light sources that are equally spaced from another along a second ring and direct a second light toward the eye, wherein the first ring and said second ring are co-planar and concentric with one another about the axis. The laser system includes a telecentric lens that receives the first light and second light reflected off of the eye and a detector that receives light from the telecentric lens and forms an image. The laser system also includes a processor that receives signals from said detector representative of the image and determines an astigmatism axis of the eye based on the signals.

A laser system that includes a laser source emitting a laser beam along an axis and a keratometer. The keratometer includes a first set of individual light sources that are equally spaced from one another along a first ring and that direct a first light toward an eye and a second set of individual light sources that are equally spaced from another along a second ring and direct a second light toward the eye, wherein the first ring and said second ring are co-planar and concentric with one another about the axis. The laser system includes a telecentric lens that receives the first light and second light reflected off of the eye and a detector that receives light from the telecentric lens and forms an image. The laser system also includes a processor that receives signals from said detector representative of the image and determines an astigmatism axis of the eye based on the signals.

Apparatus to treat an eye with an ophthalmic laser system comprises a patient interface having an annular retention structure to couple to an anterior surface of the eye. The retention structure is coupled to a suction line to couple the retention structure to the eye with suction. Liquid is added above the eye to act as a transmissive medium. A coupling sensor is coupled to the suction line to determine coupling of the retention structure to the eye. A separate pressure monitoring circuit having a much smaller volume than the suction line is connected to the annular retention structure to measure suction pressure therein. A system processor coupled to the monitoring pressure sensor includes instructions to interrupt firing of a laser when the pressure measured with a monitoring pressure sensor rises above a threshold amount.

A system and method for performing ophthalmic surgery using an ultra-short pulsed laser is provided. The system includes a laser engine configured to provide an ultra-short pulsed laser beam, optics configured to direct the laser beam to an undocked eye of a patient, an eye tracker configured to measure five degrees of freedom of movement of the undocked eye, an optical coherence tomography module configured to measure depth of the undocked eye, and a controller configured to control laser beam position on the undocked eye toward a desired laser pattern based on depth and the five degrees of freedom of movement of the undocked eye. Adaptive optics are also provided. Also disclosed are a scleral ring including fiducial markings and a compliant contact lens and fluid tillable contact lens configured to facilitate ultra-short pulsed laser surgery while reducing or eliminating eye docking requirements.

A system for fragmenting an eye lens nucleus has a first laser radiation source 30, configured to irradiate the eye lens nucleus with first radiation 32 suitable for Brillouin spectroscopy; an apparatus 36 for performing Brillouin spectroscopy with radiation scattered back from the eye lens nucleus in order to acquire Brillouin scattering measured data; a processing unit 50 in or from which correlations between Brillouin scattering measured data and parameters of a second radiation 52 suitable for fragmenting the eye lens nucleus 12 are stored or derived; and a second laser radiation source 44 having radiation guiding means 40, configured to irradiate the eye lens nucleus 12 with the second radiation with the parameters correlated with the Brillouin scattering measured data of the irradiated eye lens nucleus 12, in order to fragment the eye lens nucleus.