Non-invasive refractive treatment using nanoparticles

Abstract

Embodiments of this invention generally relate to systems and methods for optical treatment and more particularly to non-invasive refractive treatment method based on sub wavelength particle implantation. In an embodiment, a method for optical treatment identifies an optical aberration of an eye, determines a dopant delivery device configuration in response to the optical aberration of the eye, wherein the determined dopant delivery device is configured to impose a desired correction to the eye to mitigate the identified optical aberration of the eye by applying a doping pattern to the eye so as to locally change a refractive index of the eye.

1 .- 25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . A method for optical treatment of an eye of a patient, comprising:
 measuring an optical aberration of the eye;   calculating a doping pattern for a dopant based on the measured optical aberration of the eye; and   using a dopant delivery device, delivering the dopant to a cornea of the eye according to the doping pattern, wherein the delivered dopant locally changes refractive index values of the cornea without reshaping the cornea.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the optical aberration includes one of a myopia, a hyperopia, an astigmatism, and a higher order aberration. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of calculating the doping pattern includes calculating a corrective change to refractive index values of the cornea which compensates for the measured optical aberration of the eye, and wherein the doping pattern is calculated based on the corrective change to the refractive index values of the cornea. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the calculated doping pattern defines a non-uniform dopant distribution pattern within an area of dopant delivery in the cornea. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of delivering the dopant to the cornea includes:
 configuring the dopant delivery device according to the doping pattern; and   using the configured dopant delivery device to deliver the dopant to the cornea.   
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the step of configuring the dopant delivery device includes providing a contact lens with the dopant embedded in or applied onto portions of the contact lens, and wherein the step of using the configured dopant delivery device to deliver the dopant includes placing the contact lens on the cornea. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the dopant is uniformly distributed throughout the contact lens. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the dopant is non-uniformly distributed throughout the contact lens. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the contact lens further includes an orienting feature configured to orient the contact lens on the cornea. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 31 , wherein the step of using the configured dopant delivery device to deliver the dopant further includes activating the dopant to cause the dopant to be released from the contact lens. 
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the step of activating of the dopant includes changing a shape, composition, or property of the dopant or the contact lens. 
     
     
         37 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the step of activating of the dopant includes selectively activating the dopant on a first portion of the contact lens without activating the dopant on a second portion of the contact lens. 
     
     
         38 . The method of  claim 35 , wherein the step of activating of the dopant includes selectively irradiating portions of the contact lens. 
     
     
         39 . The method of  claim 30 , wherein the step of configuring the dopant delivery device includes providing a plurality of contact lenses, each contact lens having the dopant embedded in or applied onto portions of the contact lens with a uniform or non-uniform dopant distribution, and wherein the step of using the configured dopant delivery device to deliver the dopant includes applying the plurality of contact lenses to the cornea in succession. 
     
     
         40 . The method of  claim 26 , wherein the dopant comprises a plurality of nanoparticles.