Technology

When someone decides that they want laser vision correction, they seldom consider the type of laser that will be used to correct their vision. While it is true that there are many different lasers used by ophthalmologists to correct myopia or hyperopia, you may want to know a little about the one that will be used on your eyes.

We use the Wavelight® Allegretto Eye Q 400Hz Excimer Laser, as it is the safest and one of the fastest excimer lasers available. At 400 laser bursts per second, it only takes about two seconds of treatment to correct one diopter.

The Wavelight® Allegretto, was designed right from the start for custom laser vision correction. People undergoing laser vision correction will benefit from the laser's ability to reshape the eye while compensating for the cornea's naturally aspheric shape.

Unlike older excimer lasers, which remove eye tissue in a central, flat manner that creates an edge, Allegretto's Perfect Pulse Technology® uniformly applies tiny pinpoints of laser pulses adjusted to each eye's specific curvature. Eye tissue is reshaped in a smooth, consistent manner that provides best vision result.
The system also uses a technology the company pioneered called Wavefront. The Wavefront measurements provide detailed information that can help eye surgeons address even obscure defects in the eye's optical system known as higher order aberrations.

The Allegretto Wavelight® can treat a larger area within the eye's targeted treatment zone. This means a reduced chance of side effects such as seeing halos around headlights and bright lights at night. These side effects can occur when, at night or in darkened rooms, the eye's pupil widens and expands beyond the area of the cornea that received laser correction.

The ability of the WaveLight® Allegretto Eye Q laser to perform Wavefront Optimized®, Wavefront-guided or topography guided treatments means it delivers outstanding results by offering unprecedented levels of customization.

PerfectPulse Technology®

Allegretto Wave excimer laser treatment provides PerfectPulse Technology® representing a new approach to laser vision correction - it accounts for speed, precision, and safety. Smart Energy Control allows the beam, after it has been created, to pass through three checkpoints on its way to your eye. At each of these points, the energy level is checked and adjusted if necessary, ensuring that the beam is perfectly attuned at its destination.

Allegretto Wave's PerfectPulse Technology® places the laser pulses in such a way that only every fifth pulse overlaps. Not only does this preclude unwanted heating effects, it is one of the ways that Allegretto Wave achieves a rounder, more natural corneal surface than many other lasers used for vision correction. This refractive laser platform aims to protect quality of vision while providing safety for the patient and physician.

The Allegretto Wave® Excimer Laser became the first system to receive concurrent approval for myopia and hyperopia along with the widest range of approvals ever granted to a new laser platform.

Eye Tracking Technology

Due to the remarkable speed of both the eye and the Allegretto Wave procedure, the laser beam needs to be constantly and minutely adjusted to the position of the eye at any given time.

Every 4-6 milliseconds, the eye's location is measured and the internal mirrors of the Allegretto Wave are automatically aligned. Right before the pulse is released, a second check is made to confirm that the eye has not moved. This happens 400 times every second, once for every laser pulse released. If, at any time, the eye moves too quickly to be measured or moves out of range, the laser will stop and wait for the eye to move back into position.

Better Night Vision and Glare Control

The effect of higher-order aberrations increases with pupil size. Hence the effective optical zone size should correspond with the pupil. Large transitions zones include higher-order aberrations, thereby fostering vision problems such as halos and glare. Controlling the peripheral ablation allows the laser to create large, true optical zones with a minimized transition zone. By treating larger optical zones with a diameter of up to 8 mm, postoperative glare and halos may be minimized.

Corneal Topography (Oculyzer)

Precise corneal profiling is achieved using the Oculyser. This uses integrated Pentacam technology to provide three dimensional analysis based on the Scheimpflug principle.

Scheimpflug imaging allows the assessment of the complete anterior segment of the eye, from the front of the cornea to the back of the lens. The rotating measuring processcaptures 25000 true elevation points within 2 seconds to create a precise 3D model of the eye.

Now the gold standard in corneal topography, the system allows for topographic guided laser vision correction for the more complex treatments.

Wavefront Analysis (Analyzer)

Wavefront-guided treatments with the A-CAT software module were designed to treat patients with bad low light vision, patients with high incidence of higher order aberrations in their optical system and for retreatments of previous refractive surgery patients.

Any required correction to the optical path of the eye is enabled via the A-CAT module on the cornea.