Adjustable Focus Optical System for Cornea and Lens Laser Therapy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current laser therapy instruments for the eye are either specialized for cornea or crystalline lens treatment, requiring separate and costly instruments that are often underutilized and inefficient, with precision compromised by aberrations and limited focus volume size.
Innovation Solution
A configurable optical system with adjustable lens configurations and expanders allows precise axial and lateral focus positioning for both cornea and crystalline lens treatments, minimizing aberrations and maximizing numerical aperture, enabling high-precision surgery in both regions with a single instrument.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If separate specialized instruments are used for cornea and crystalline lens treatment, then treatment precision for each specific area is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is designed to perform both cornea treatment and crystalline lens treatment functions within a single instrument. The system can switch between different treatment modes by adjusting the focus position along the optical axis, eliminating the need for separate specialized instruments while maintaining high precision for both applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic focus adjustment mechanisms that allow the focal point to be precisely positioned at different depths along the optical axis. By moving the focus between the cornea region and the crystalline lens region, the single instrument can adapt to different treatment requirements without compromising precision.
2Device complexity
If a single instrument is used for both cornea and crystalline lens treatment, then device complexity is reduced, but treatment precision may be compromised due to aberrations
Solution Approach 1:
The optical system is designed with different optical configurations optimized for specific treatment regions. By adjusting the focus position and optical parameters locally for cornea treatment versus crystalline lens treatment, the system maintains high precision for each application while using a single instrument platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes optical parameters such as focus position, numerical aperture, and beam configuration depending on the treatment target. These parameter adjustments allow the single instrument to compensate for aberrations and maintain treatment precision across different anatomical regions.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If focus volume is reduced to minimize tissue damage, then safety is improved, but the interaction zone becomes too small for effective treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses ultrashort pulsed laser radiation with precise timing to deliver treatment energy. The periodic pulsed action allows the focus volume to be tightly confined during each pulse while maintaining sufficient interaction zone size through cumulative effect over multiple pulses, minimizing tissue damage between pulses.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts laser pulse parameters including duration, energy, and repetition rate to optimize the balance between focus volume size and interaction zone effectiveness. By changing these parameters, the system achieves both small focus volume for safety and sufficient interaction zone for effective treatment.
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 achieves high precision and reduced tissue damage by optimizing focus volume size and position for each treatment area, reducing the need for multiple instruments and improving surgical efficiency and accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
This is done with an optical focusing system, which projects the parallel laser beam from infinity at the object side into the treatment plane on the image side
Implementation Method 2
from the surface of the region of the cornea that is now exposed, tissue is removed thereupon by application of a laser beam pulsed in the femtosecond range
Implementation Method 3
the interaction between the ultrashort laser pulses and the tissue takes place in a small volume, hereafter referred to as focus volume
Implementation Method 4
At this wavelength, the detection of the laser light backscattered in the crystalline lens is possible at the greatest accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
An optical system for a laser therapy instrument for the application of laser radiation on and in the eye, includes a femtosecond laser, an objective. The objective or at least one lens or lens group of the objective is shiftable in the direction of the optical axis being intended for shifting of the focus position from the region of the cornea to the region of the crystalline lens and vice versa. The optical system may include at least two optical assemblies designed for the axial variation of the focus of the therapeutic laser radiation, with the focus variation range Δz differing between the individual assemblies and a changing device, designed for the insertion of any one of these assemblies into the therapeutic laser beam path at a time.