Corneal Flap Registration via Image Comparison
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ophthalmic surgery techniques for correcting vision deficiencies, such as LASIK, face challenges in accurately centering and sizing corneal flaps, leading to potential suboptimal refractive corrections and the need for oversized flaps, which may not be ideal for all patients.
Innovation Solution
The system uses image processing techniques to compare pre-operative diagnostic images with intra-operative images to accurately determine and register the desired corneal flap geometry and location, allowing for precise incision placement using femtosecond or other intrastromal lasers, ensuring proper alignment and size of the flap for refractive corrections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If physician positioning of suction interface against eye is used to determine flap location, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical positioning method with an automated image processing and registration system. The system captures images of the eye, processes them to identify anatomical features, and automatically calculates the precise location and orientation of the corneal flap, eliminating reliance on physician hand-eye coordination while improving positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy or representation of the eye's anatomy through image capture and processing. By generating a registered image that maps the actual eye geometry to the planned flap design, the system allows virtual planning and verification before actual surgery, ensuring precise flap placement without requiring complex manual positioning techniques.
2Reliability
If oversized corneal flaps are used to ensure surgery can proceed, then reliability is improved, but loss of substance worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary planning and verification by registering the desired flap geometry with the actual eye anatomy before making the incision. The image processing system allows the surgeon to review the planned flap location, size, and orientation in advance, ensuring it is both safe and precisely sized, thereby avoiding the need to create oversized flaps as a safety margin.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback loop where the registered image of the actual eye anatomy is compared with the planned flap design. This allows real-time verification and adjustment of the flap parameters before surgery, ensuring the flap is appropriately sized for the specific patient's anatomy while maintaining safety margins, thus eliminating the need for universally oversized flaps.
3Manufacturing precision
If image processing and registration techniques are used to determine precise flap location, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple functions into a single comprehensive system: image capture, image processing, anatomical feature identification, flap geometry calculation, and surgical guidance. This multi-functional approach consolidates what could be separate complex devices into one unified system, improving precision while managing overall system complexity through functional integration.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for registering a corneal flap for laser surgery on an eye. The method includes generating a first image of the eye (300) during a diagnostic procedure, determining a corneal flap geometry (305) referenced to the first image, generating a second image of the eye (310) during to a treatment procedure, comparing the first image with the second image (315), and registering the corneal flap geometry of the first image to the second image (320).