A method implemented in an ophthalmic surgical laser system for forming a corneal flap in a patient's eye with improved bubble management. The flap includes a horizontal bed and a vertical or near vertical side cut around the periphery of the bed except for an uncut hinge area. The side cut has a bubble barrier layer that can prevent bubbles formed by the laser-tissue interaction from escaping into an interface between the corneal and the patient interface lens. In some embodiments, the bubble barrier layer is a thin uncut layer, located in the epithelium of the cornea, that separates the side cut into two portions. In other embodiments, the side cut does not reach the anterior corneal surface, leaving an uncut bubble barrier layer located with the epithelium. In other embodiments, an additional side cut portion is formed through the uncut bubble barrier layer as the last step.

A method of controlling an eye surgical laser is disclosed for the separation of a volume body with predefined posterior and anterior interfaces from a human/animal cornea. The method including controlling the laser with a control device, the laser being configured to emit pulsed laser pulses in a predefined pattern into the cornea. The posterior and anterior interfaces of the volume body are defined by the predefined pattern and are generated by an interaction of the individual laser pulses with the cornea through photodisruption. The control device controls the laser beam such that both interfaces are generated via a continuous, uninterrupted sequence of laser pulses. A treatment device is disclosed with at least one eye surgical laser for the separation of a predefined corneal volume with predefined interfaces of a human/animal eye by photodisruption and with at least one control device for the laser(s).

A method of refraction-correcting ophthalmic surgery in tissue of an eye after at least one previous ophthalmic surgery in the tissue, comprising accessing information on a pre-operative cut and defining a cut surface on the basis of the information on the pre-operative cut of the at least one previous ophthalmic surgery of the tissue of the eye.

The disclosure provides a system that may acquire, via an image sensor, an image of an eye of a person; may determine a location of an iris of the eye from the image; may determine a position of a suction ring from the image; may display, via a display, the image; may display, via the display, a first graphic overlay on the image that indicates the location of the iris of the eye; may display, via the display, a second graphic overlay on the image that indicates the position of the suction ring; may determine multiple iris structures from the image; may determine an orientation of the eye based at least on the multiple iris structures from the image; and may display, via the display, information that indicates the orientation of the eye.

An imaging system includes an eye interface device, a scanning assembly, a beam source, a free-floating mechanism, and a detection assembly. The eye interface device interfaces with an eye. The scanning assembly supports the eye interface device and scans a focal point of an electromagnetic radiation beam within the eye. The beam source generates the electromagnetic radiation beam. The free-floating mechanism supports the scanning assembly and accommodates movement of the eye and provides a variable optical path for the electronic radiation beam and a portion of the electronic radiation beam reflected from the focal point location. The variable optical path is disposed between the beam source and the scanner and has an optical path length that varies to accommodate movement of the eye. The detection assembly generates a signal indicative of intensity of a portion of the electromagnetic radiation beam reflected from the focal point location.

An imaging system includes an eye interface device, a scanning assembly, a beam source, a free-floating mechanism, and a detection assembly. The eye interface device interfaces with an eye. The scanning assembly supports the eye interface device and scans a focal point of an electromagnetic radiation beam within the eye. The beam source generates the electromagnetic radiation beam. The free-floating mechanism supports the scanning assembly and accommodates movement of the eye and provides a variable optical path for the electronic radiation beam and a portion of the electronic radiation beam reflected from the focal point location. The variable optical path is disposed between the beam source and the scanner and has an optical path length that varies to accommodate movement of the eye. The detection assembly generates a signal indicative of intensity of a portion of the electromagnetic radiation beam reflected from the focal point location.

A treatment apparatus for operatively correcting myopia or hyperopia in an eye includes a laser device controlled by a control device and that separates the corneal tissue by applying a laser beam. The control device controls the laser device to emit the laser beam into the cornea such that a lenticule-shaped volume is isolated in the cornea. The control device, when controlling the laser device, predefines the lenticule-shaped volume such that the volume has a minimum thickness of between 5 and 50 μm. For myopia correction, the minimum thickness occurs on the edge of the volume, and for hyperopia correction the minimum thickness occurs in the region of the visual axis.

An ophthalmic surgical laser system includes: a laser that produces a pulsed laser beam having a pulse energy and pulse repetition rate; a high frequency fast scanner; an XY-scan device; a Z-scan device; and a controller. The controller controls the high frequency scanner to produce a scan line having a scan width; controls the XY-scan device and the Z-scan device to carry out of first sweep of the scan line in a first sweep direction and to carry out a second sweep of the scan line in a second sweep direction that is not parallel to the first sweep direction thereby defining an overlap region. At least one of the pulse energy, repetition rate, XY-scan speed, and the scan width is varied so as to accelerate the cutting speed and reduce the exposure of ophthalmic tissue in the overlap region to multiple exposures of laser pulses configured to modify ophthalmic tissue.

A planning device generating control data for a treatment apparatus for refraction-correcting ophthalmic surgery is provided, said apparatus using a laser device to separate a corneal volume, which is to be removed for correction, from the surrounding cornea by at least one cut surface in the cornea of an eye, said planning device comprising an interface for receiving corneal data including information on pre-operative cuts which were generated in a previous ophthalmic operation, and computing means for defining a corneal cut surface which confines the corneal volume to be removed, said computing means defining the corneal cut surface on the basis of the corneal data and generating a control dataset for the corneal cut surface for control of the laser device.

The invention provides an excimer laser system including a means for calibrating laser output to compensate for increased variation in laser optical fibers.