Method and system for ablating surfaces with partially overlapping craters having consistent curvature
US6497701B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Dec 24, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61F2009/00872
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A technique for laser sculpting a predetermined shape on an exposed corneal surface by ablating a sequence of consistently curved craters with individual pulses of a laser beam. An initial laser beam energy pattern is shaped by a laser beam shaping element to make a consistently curved laser beam energy pattern. The consistently curved laser beam ablates a consistently curved crater in the surface with a single pulse of the laser beam. A computer controls the position of the laser beam and scans the laser beam over the surface to sculpt the predetermined shape in an ablation zone on the exposed surface. A sequence of partially overlapping craters is distributed over the ablation zone. In some embodiments diffractive optics are used as a beam shaping element. In additional embodiments, the consistently curved crater is a uniformly curved spherical crater.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.