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Ultrafast Laser Brings New Precision to Cornea Surgery
Researchers at the Kellogg Eye Center and the College of Engineering
have developed a new, ultrafast laser that makes clean, high-precision
surgical cuts in the human cornea. The new laser will be used
to cut a flap in the cornea — the first step in the popular
LASIK vision correction surgery. Because it is more precise
than the mechanical blade surgeons now use, it is expected
to reduce complications associated with LASIK. Use of the
laser for cutting the LASIK flap received Food and Drug Administration
approval earlier this year.
"Although useful in treating several eye diseases, current
commercial lasers are not able to cut or remove tissue without
disrupting the eye's delicate superficial tissues, which can
cause significant inflammation and scarring," says Ron
Kurtz, M.D., an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual
sciences in the U-M Medical School.
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Ron Kurtz
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Light pulses produced by the laser are so short and intense
they are measured in femtoseconds or millionths of a billionth
of a second. This enables eye surgeons to make extremely precise
cuts with far less damage to adjacent tissue than is possible
with current LASIK surgery technology.
Kurtz and Tibor Juhasz, Ph.D., an associate professor of biomedical
engineering, co-founded IntraLase™ Corporation to commercialize
the new laser with support from the National Science Foundation,
the NIH National Eye Institute, and the Department of Defense.
Femtosecond laser technology for ophthalmic applications was
developed at the U-M Center for Ultrafast Optical Science,
a National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center,
and the Kellogg Eye Center. The research team is now exploring
the possibility of extending this technique to other eye procedures
— such as corneal transplants or glaucoma treatment.
Others involved in development of the new, ultrafast laser
include Gerard A. Mourou, Ph.D., the A.D. Moore Distinguished
University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Sciences, who directs the Center for Ultrafast Optical Sciences
in the U-M College of Engineering; and Paul R. Lichter, M.D.,
the F. Bruce Fralick Professor of Ophthalmology and director
of the Kellogg Eye Center.
-Randall Wallach
For more information, see the IntraLase Web site at:
www.intralase.com/home.html
See more information from the U-M Kellogg Eye Center on LASIK
at:
www.kellogg.umich.edu/LASIK/index.html
 
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