Kowa Company Limited

Coherent, Inc.

Stephan Pataki

Chikashi Koike

Makoto Ishida

Donald T McCallum

An apparatus for ophthalmic laser treatment of the eye of a patient has a slit image projector which projects a slit image along a common optical axis into the eye of a patient to illuminate the eye, and a laser beam projector which projects a laser beam spot along the common optical axis into the eye of the patient to treat the eye. A common reflector is disposed on the common optical axis for selectively reflecting the slit image and the laser beam spot toward the eye. The reflector has one section positioned to reflect and direct the slit image toward the eye to illuminate the eye, and another section driveably displaceable relative to said one section to reflect and direct the laser beam spot toward the eye to thereby scan the laser beam spot relative to the slit image. Observation equipment is used for observing the slit image and the laser beam spot projected into the eye of the patient to determine the portion of the eye to be treated with reference to the slit image. A manipulator is operated while the laser beam spot is being observed for driving the other section of the reflector to enable the same to scan the laser beam spot within the determined portion of the eye to carry out the ophthalmic laser treatment.

Laser coagulation system

A laser coagulation system projects a slit image beam into an eyeball to determine a treatment point and selectively delivers argon and krypton laser beams thereto during an opthalmological operation. Observation equipment receives the slit image beam and laser beams reflected from the treatment point to observe the treatment point. A pair of discs are coaxially rotatably mounted around a shaft parallel to the optical axis between the treatment point and the observation equipment. The discs are selected according to the kind of laser beams and disposed on the optical axis to block the reflected laser beam during the irradiation thereof and to pass the reflected slit image beam during other than the irradiation of the laser beam. One disc has a filter for absorbing the argon laser beam and an opening for passing the slit image beam, both disposed along the periphery of the disc, and the other disc has another filter for absorbing the krypton laser beam and an opening for passing the slit image beam.

Growing community of inventors

Campbell, CA, United States of America

Stephan Pataki