Laser treatment device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10772764-B2
Application number	US-201615231255-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 8, 2016
Priority date	Oct 23, 2003
Publication date	Sep 15, 2020
Grant date	Sep 15, 2020

Abstract

An adapter for coupling a laser treatment device to an object for treatment. The adapter has an input side, which may be fixed relative to the laser treatment device, by a locking mechanism and which may be fixed to the object, for alignment of the object relative to the laser treatment device. A scanned laser beam is introduced on the input side, from the laser treatment device, along a beam path to the object with a reference structure. The reference structure lies on the beam path of the adapter and may be optically detected by means of the laser beam scanned over the region.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An adapter for coupling an eye to be treated in ophthalmic surgery with a laser treatment device including a laser, the adapter comprising:
a contact glass having an adapter input side, and being configured to be mounted to the laser treatment device via a locking mechanism with the adapter input side facing the laser treatment device, wherein the contact glass provides an adapter beam path for a laser beam emitted by the laser treatment device;
a scanned region that is part of the adapter input side, wherein the laser beam, having been supplied to be scanned over the scanned region, is transmitted along the adapter beam path, wherein the adapter beam path starts at the scanned region and the laser beam passes through the scanned region and along the adapter beam path when being scanned during laser treatment; and
a reference structure, the reference structure being located in the adapter beam path such that the reference structure can be illuminated by the laser beam being scanned over the scanned region, wherein the reference structure is adapted to absorb or reflect the laser beam to make the reference structure optically detectable; and
wherein the reference structure encodes information about the adapter.

2. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the information encoded by the reference structure includes an adapter ID.

3. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the information encoded by the reference structure includes an adapter type.

4. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an adapter output side, through which the laser beam supplied to the scanned region of the adapter input side exits and which is structured to alter a shape of a front face of the eye to conform to a desired shape of the front face of the eye when the adapter output side contacts the front face of the eye.

5. The adapter as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the adapter output side defines the desired shape and the information encoded by the reference structure includes the desired shape.

6. The adapter as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the information encoded by the reference structure includes refractive properties of the adapter output side.

7. The adapter as claimed in claim 4 , the contact glass comprising a cylindrical or frustoconical body, a first end surface of which acts as the adapter input side and a second end surface of which acts as the adapter output side, the adapter output side defining the desired shape of the cornea.

8. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reference structure comprises spatial zones which are located within the adapter beam path provided by the contact glass and which differ from a remainder of the adapter beam path in at least one optical property.

9. The adapter as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the optical property comprises a refractive index.

10. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the adapter beam path apart from the reference structure comprises a material which is transparent to the laser radiation.

11. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a flange that enables engagement to the locking mechanism.

12. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a suction portion that enables attachment to the eye.

13. The adapter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein further the reference structure is located in a known position relative to the adapter and scanning of the reference structure by the scanned laser beam allows the laser treatment device to detect a position of the adapter.

14. A laser treatment device for treating an eye in ophthalmic surgery, comprising:
a laser that emits a laser beam;
a beam scanning unit for scanning the laser beam over the eye;
an adapter, comprising a contact glass having an adapter input side, and being configured to be mounted to the laser treatment device via a locking mechanism with the adapter input side facing the laser treatment device, the adapter being configured to be brought into contact with the eye to position the eye relative to the laser treatment device, wherein the contact glass provides an adapter beam path for the laser beam emitted by the laser;
the adapter further comprising:
a scanned region that is part of the adapter input side, wherein the laser beam, having been scanned over the scanned region by the beam scanning unit, is transmitted along the adapter beam path, wherein the adapter beam path starts at the scanned region and the laser beam passes through the scanned region and along the adapter beam path, when being scanned during laser treatment, and wherein an optically detectable reference structure encoding information is provided in the adapter beam path;
a control unit controlling the beam scanning unit to scan the laser beam in an illuminating mode; and
a detecting unit for optical detection of the reference structure illuminated by the laser beam scanned in the illuminating mode,
wherein the control unit receives output from the detecting unit and controls the beam scanning unit in the illuminating mode to scan the laser beam over the scanned region such that the reference structure is illuminated by the laser beam, and
further wherein the control unit determines information encoded on basis of an actual scanning position of the scanned laser beam and the output of the detecting unit during the illuminating mode.

15. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the reference structure is located in a known position relative to the adapter and scanning of the reference structure by the scanned laser beam whereby the laser treatment device detects the position of the adapter.

16. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein, in a treating mode, the laser is configured to emit a treatment laser beam adapted for treating the eye; wherein the control unit is configured to switch to the laser into the illuminating mode by controlling the laser such that the laser beam has no machining effect on the adapter.

17. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the laser comprises a device for attenuating laser beam energy in the illuminating mode to reduce beam energy below a threshold above which the machining effect occurs to the adapter.

18. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the control unit is configured to determine a difference between a desired position and an actual position of the adapter and blocks treatment if the difference exceeds a threshold value.

19. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the control unit controls the beam scanning unit based on the actual position.

20. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the contact glass includes an adapter output side structured to be brought into contact with a front face of the eye to position the eye relative to the laser treatment device and to provide for a desired shape of the front face when the adapter output side contacts the front phrase of the eye.

21. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the information encoded by the reference structure includes an adapter ID.

22. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the information encoded by the reference structure includes an adapter type.

23. The laser treatment device as claimed in claim 14 , further comprising a pulsed treatment laser providing a treatment laser beam for the ophthalmic surgery, wherein the control unit controls the beam scann

Assignees

• Zeiss Carl Meditec Ag

Inventors

• Bischoff Mark
• Ebert Elke
• Festag Karsten
• Lang Carsten
• Sticker Markus

Classifications

• A61F9/009 Primary

  Auxiliary devices making contact with the eyeball and coupling in laser light, {e.g. goniolenses (apparatus for eye examination A61B3/0008)} · CPC title

• A61F2009/00855

  Calibration of the laser system · CPC title

• A61F2009/00872

  Cornea · CPC title

• B23K26/04

  Automatically aligning, aiming or focusing the laser beam, e.g. using the back-scattered light · CPC title

• A61F9/00825

  for photodisruption · CPC title