Adaptive Optics Compensate for Patient Interface Surface Irregularities
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Manufacturing defects in patient interfaces for ocular surgery can affect the accuracy and quality of laser treatment procedures, leading to increased costs and complexity due to the need for high-precision, reusable contact elements that require sterilization and inspection.
Innovation Solution
A computer-controlled beam delivery system that images and compensates for surface irregularities on the patient interface, using optical detectors and adaptive optics to adjust the laser beam's path and focus, allowing for the use of lower-cost manufacturing methods like injection molding and enabling single-use disposable interfaces without compromising focal spot positioning accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If high-precision manufacturing methods (e.g., turning) are used to manufacture contact elements, then manufacturing precision and surface quality are improved, but manufacturing cost and device complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the disposable principle by making the contact element a single-use component that is discarded after one patient interface application. This eliminates the need for expensive high-precision manufacturing methods and repeated sterilization/inspection processes. The contact element can be manufactured using lower-cost injection molding techniques, and the dimensional compensator further allows tolerance for manufacturing variations, making the disposable approach viable without compromising laser treatment accuracy.
2Ease of manufacture
If contact elements are reused across multiple patients, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but device complexity and sterilization requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the complexity of sterilization and inspection by implementing a disposable contact element that is used once and then discarded. This single-use approach removes all sterilization requirements and inspection for defects between uses, significantly simplifying the workflow despite the increased consumption of components.
3Ease of manufacture
If lower-cost manufacturing methods (e.g., injection molding) are used, then manufacturing cost decreases, but manufacturing precision and surface quality worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by introducing a dimensional compensator that dynamically adjusts optical parameters (beam position and focus) to compensate for fixed manufacturing tolerances in the contact element. This allows lower-precision manufacturing methods to be used while maintaining treatment accuracy through real-time optical compensation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses optical copying and imaging to measure the actual surface geometry of the contact element, then creates a digital model that is used to calculate compensating adjustments. This copying approach allows the system to adapt to the specific manufacturing variations present in each individual contact element.
4Quantity of substance
If reusable contact elements are used, then component cost is reduced, but time loss due to sterilization and inspection increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates time loss from sterilization and inspection by using disposable contact elements that require no such processing. The trade-off is increased consumption of components, but the time efficiency gain is significant for clinical workflow.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively compensates for manufacturing defects in patient interfaces, maintaining high accuracy and focusability of laser treatments while reducing costs by enabling the use of lower-cost, disposable interfaces, simplifying the manufacturing process and eliminating the need for sterilization and inspection.
Implementation Method 1
an adaptable optic operable on the beam and adjustable to vary a wavefront profile of the beam
Implementation Method 2
an optical detector that creates image data of a portion of the eye and of a surface of the patient interface
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method are provided for performing ocular laser surgery using a patient interface having a posterior contact surface that may include surface irregularities that were generated during manufacturing of the patient interface. A beam delivery system having a focusing lens, scanning subsystem and adaptive optic (e.g. deformable mirror) is provided for guiding the surgical laser beam through the patient interface and to a desired focal spot location. An optical detector generates image data representing the posterior patient interface surface which is then processed by a computer system to identify surface irregularities by comparing the image data to a reference surface or axis. In particular, a surface irregularity can be identified as having a z-axis component; a tilt component and a surface profile component. Each irregularity component can be compensated separately by sending an adjustment signal to one of the beam delivery system components.