초록 ▼

A method for performing intrastromal photorefractive keratectomy in the cornea of an eye, using a pulsed, laser beam to photodisrupt a portion of the cornea, includes the initial step of focusing the beam to a focal spot at a selected starting point in the stroma. The starting point is located at a

A method for performing intrastromal photorefractive keratectomy in the cornea of an eye, using a pulsed, laser beam to photodisrupt a portion of the cornea, includes the initial step of focusing the beam to a focal spot at a selected starting point in the stroma. The starting point is located at a predetermined distance behind the epithelium of the cornea. While focused on the starting point, the laser beam is pulsed to disrupt a volume of the stroma which is approximately equal to the volume of the focal point. Subsequently, the beam is focused in a patterned sequence to focal spots at other discrete points in the stroma. At each point the stroma is photodisrupted. With this progressive pattern of photodisruption, each spot is placed substantially contiguous with adjacent a volume of previously disrupted tissue. The resultant photodisrupted tissue creates a layer which is substantially centro-symmetrical around the optical axis. A plurality of layers can be removed to create a cavity in the stroma. When the cavity collapses, the corneal curvature is changed as desired.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for modifying the curvature of the cornea of an eye, the eye including a stroma and an optical axis, the cornea including an anterior surface, the method comprising the steps of:focusing a laser beam through the anterior surface of the cornea to a plurality of fo

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for modifying the curvature of the cornea of an eye, the eye including a stroma and an optical axis, the cornea including an anterior surface, the method comprising the steps of:focusing a laser beam through the anterior surface of the cornea to a plurality of focal spots in the stroma;pulsing the laser beam to modify a plurality of substantially contiguous volumes of stromal tissue at the plurality of focal spots to create a first cavity layer; andrepeating the focusing step and the pulsing step to create a plurality of additional cavity layers within the stroma in an anterior progression.