P
USRE40420EExpiredUtilityPatentIndex 93

Method and device for treating opaqueness and/or hardening of a closed eye

Assignee: ZEISS CARL MEDITEC AGPriority: Aug 26, 1999Filed: Aug 25, 2000Granted: Jul 1, 2008
Est. expiryAug 26, 2019(expired)· nominal 20-yr term from priority
Inventors:DICK MANFREDSCHROEDER ECKHARD
A61F 9/008A61F 9/00825A61F 2009/00874A61F 9/00838A61F 9/0084A61F 9/00736A61F 2009/00887A61F 2009/00895A61B 2017/00172A61B 2017/00154A61F 2009/00872A61F 9/009A61B 90/20A61F 2009/0087
93
PatentIndex Score
24
Cited by
30
References
43
Claims

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and a device for treating opacities and/or hardenings of an unopened eye. It is a specific advantage of the solution according to the invention that the treamtment of the inner region of the eye is possible without the need to introduce a surgical instrument into the eye.

Claims

exact text as granted — not AI-modified
1. A method for noninvasively dissolving opacities and/or hardenings of an eye comprising:
 dissolvingdirecting a plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser on an opacity and/or hardening of the eye so as to dissolve at least one of anthe opacity and athe hardening via a, wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration of less than  10  ps and the plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser definingdefine a pulse train having a duration of less than 1 s.  
 
     
     
       2. The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the duration of the pulse train is less than 0.1 s. 
     
     
       3. The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the pulse train is emitted repeatedly. 
     
     
       4. The method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein a repetition frequency of the pulses in the repeated pulse train is in the kHz range. 
     
     
       5. The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising
 selecting a laser radiation of a wavelength which has at least one of a higher absorption and a lower reflection for the at least one of the opacity and the hardening than for a remaining part of the eye.  
 
     
     
       6. The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising aligning the ultrashort pulses so that energy densities which dissolve the at least one of the opacities and hardenings occur within the at least one of the opacity and the hardening while, at the same time, no damage is caused to tissue in other regions of the eye. 
     
     
       7. The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the alignment of the ultrashort pulses takes place via at least one of a deflection device, focusing optics and a contact glass. 
     
     
       8. The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising
 acquiring data on the at least one of the opacity and the hardening by measuring reflected radiation of low energy prior to actual treatment, and  
 selecting the alignment and the energy of the ultrashort pulses as a function of the acquired data.  
 
     
     
       9. A method for operating a device according to claim  1    14 , the method comprising:
 using the device subsequent to an excimer laser treatment in the case of haze formation in the cornea.  
 
     
     
       10. The method for operating a device according to claim  1    14 , the method comprising using the device to treat cloudings of a lens nucleus in the case of incipient cataract. 
     
     
       11. The method for operating a device according to  claim 1 , the method comprising using the device to treat impurties  impurities in a vitreous body in a visual field. 
     
     
       12. A method for noninvasively treating the presbyopia of an eye comprising
 using the method of  claim 1 , and producing blisters in a lens of the eye, the blisters filling with liquid.    
     
     
       13. The method as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the blisters are produced as blister fields in the lens. 
     
     
       14. A device for noninvasively treating opacities and/or hardenings of an eye comprising:
 a laser having a wavelength in a range of from 350 nm to 1300 nm; and  
 a device for generating a pulse train of ultrashort pulses having a pulse duration of less than  10  ps from the laser, the pulse train having a duration of less than 1 s,  
 an aligning device for aligning the ultrashort pulses, the aligning device including one of a deflection device, focusing optics, and a contact glass, and  
 a control device controlling the aligning device for aligning the ultrashort pulses as a function of data on at least one of the opacity and the hardening.  
 
     
     
       15. The device as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the duration of the pulse train is less than 0.1 s. 
     
     
       16. The device as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the device for generating a pulse train generates pulse trains with a repetition frequency. 
     
     
       17. The device as recited in  claim 16 , wherein the device for generating pulse trains with a repetition frequency generates pulse trains in the kHz range. 
     
     
       18. The device as recited in  claim 14 , further comprising a device for generating a laser radiation having a wavelength which has at least one of a higher absorption and a lower reflection for the at least one of the opacity and the hardening than for remaining parts of the eye. 
     
     
       19. The device as recited in  claim 14 , wherein the wavelength of the laser is in the range of from 780 nm to 1060 nm. 
     
     
       20. A method for noninvasively dissolving opacities and/or hardenings of an eye comprising:
 dissolvingdirecting a plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser on an opacity and/or hardening of the eye so as to dissolve at least one of anthe opacity and athe hardening via a, wherein the plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser defininghave a duration of less than  10  ps and a pulse train, wherein the pulse train is emitted repeatedly and wherein a repetition frequency of the pulses in the repeated pulse train is in the kHz range.  
 
     
     
       21. The method as recited in  claim 20  wherein the method is used for treating a haze formation subsequent to an excimer laser treatment. 
     
     
       22. The method as recited in  claim 20  wherein the method is used for treating cloudings of a lens nucleus in the case of an incipient cataract. 
     
     
       23. The method as recited in  claim 20  wherein the method is used for treating impurities in a vitreous body in a visual field. 
     
     
       24. A method for noninvasively treating the presbyopia of an eye comprising:
 dissolvingdirecting a plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser on an opacity and/or hardening of the eye so as to dissolve at least one of anthe opacity and athe hardening via a, wherein the plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser defininghave a duration of less than  10  ps and define a pulse train, and wherein the directing is performed so as to produce blisters as blister fields in a lens of the eye, the blisters filling with liquid.  
 
     
     
       25. The method as recited in  claim 24 , wherein the blister fields are produced inside of the lens. 
     
     
       26. The method as recited in  claim 25 , wherein the blister fields are symmetrically arranged. 
     
     
       27. A method for noninvasively treating the presbyopia of an eye comprising: directing a plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser on an opacity and/or hardening of the eye so as to dissolve at least one of the opacity and the hardening, wherein the plurality of ultrashort pulses have a duration of less than  10  ps and define a pulse train, and wherein the directing is performed so as to produce blisters in a lens of the eye, and results in an increasing flexibility of the lens. 
     
     
       28. The method as recited in  claim 27 , wherein the directing is performed so as to produce the blisters inside of the lens. 
     
     
       29. The method as recited in  claim 28 , wherein the directing is performed so as to produce the blisters in a symmetrically arrangement. 
     
     
       30. The method as recited in  claim 27  wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration in the fs range. 
     
     
       31. A method for noninvasively treating the presbyopia of an eye comprising: directing a plurality of ultrashort pulses of a laser having a duration of less than  10  ps to an inside of a lens of the eye so as to dissolve at least one of an opacity and a hardening in the lens, wherein the directing results in an increased flexibility of the lens. 
     
     
       32. The method as recited in  claim 31 , wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration in the fs range. 
     
     
       33. The method as recited in  claim 31 , wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration in the ps range. 
     
     
       34. The method as recited in  claim 31 , wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration from  10  ps to  10  fs. 
     
     
       35. The method as recited in  claim 31 , further comprising amplifying the ultrashort pulses. 
     
     
       36. The method as recited in  claim 35 , wherein the amplification is performed using the Chirped Pulse Amplification Method. 
     
     
       37. The method as recited in  claim 31 , wherein the directing of the ultrashort pulses includes aligning the ultrashort pulses using at least one of a deflection device, focusing optics and a contact glass. 
     
     
       38. The method as recited in  claim 37 , wherein the aligning, of the ultrashort pulses includes preselecting an energy, density of the ultrashort pulses at the inside of the lens. 
     
     
       39. A device for noninvasively treating the presbyopia of an eye comprising: a laser configured to emit ultrashort pulses having a pulse duration in the fs range in a pulse train having a duration of less than  5  seconds; an aligning device for aligning the ultrashort pulses, the aligning device including one of a deflection device, focusing optics, and a contact glass; and a control device controlling the aligning device for aligning the ultrashort pulses such that a focus of the ultrashort pulses comes to rest in an inside of the lens. 
     
     
       40. The device as recited in  claim 39 , wherein the laser is configured to emit the ultrashort pulses in a pulse train having a duration of less than  2  seconds. 
     
     
       41. The device as recited in  claim 40 , wherein the laser is configured to emit the ultrashort pulses in a pulse train having a duration of less than  0 . 1  seconds. 
     
     
       42. The method as recited in  claim 41 , wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration of approximately  300  fs. 
     
     
       43. The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein the ultrashort pulses have a duration of from  10  ps to  10  fs.

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