Abstract: An integral laser imaging and treatment apparatus, and associated systems and methods that allow a physician (e.g., a surgeon) to perform laser surgical procedures on an eye structure or a body surface with an integral laser imaging and treatment apparatus disposed at a first (i.e. local) location from a control system disposed at a second (i.e. remote) location, e.g., a physician's office. In some embodiments, communication between the integral laser imaging and treatment apparatus and control system is achieved via the Internet®. Also, in some embodiments, the laser imaging and treatment apparatus includes a dynamic imaging system that verifies the identity of a patient, and is capable of being used for other important applications, such as tracking and analyzing trends in a disease process. Further, in some embodiments, the laser imaging and treatment apparatus determines the geographical location of the local laser generation unit of the system using GPS.

Abstract: A method of corneal implantation with cross-linking is disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the method includes the steps of: (i) forming a flap in a cornea of an eye so as to expose a stromal tissue of the cornea underlying the flap; (ii) pivoting the flap so as to expose the stromal tissue of the cornea underlying the flap; (iii) inserting an implant under the flap so as to overlie the stromal tissue of the cornea; (iv) applying laser energy and/or microwaves to the implant in the eye so as to modify the refractive power of the implant; (v) applying a cross-linking solution that includes a photosensitizer to the implant; (vi) covering the implant with the flap; and (vii) irradiating the implant so as to activate cross-linkers in the implant, and thereby cross-link the implant and the stromal tissue of the cornea surrounding the implant.

Abstract: A method of corneal implantation with cross-linking is disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the method includes the steps of: (i) forming a flap in a cornea of an eye so as to expose a stromal tissue of the cornea underlying the flap; (ii) pivoting the flap so as to expose the stromal tissue of the cornea underlying the flap; (iii) inserting an implant under the flap so as to overlie the stromal tissue of the cornea, wherein the implant is cross-linked so as to prevent an immune response to the implant and/or rejection of the implant by the patient; and (iv) covering the cross-linked implant with the flap, the cross-linked implant being surrounded entirely by the stromal tissue of the cornea.

Abstract: A method of treatment is disclosed herein. The method includes administering to a patient in need thereof a polymer implant device containing a biocompatible drug, or a plurality of nanoparticles or microparticles conjugated with the biocompatible drug, the biocompatible drug comprising one or more Rock inhibitors, one or more Wnt inhibitors, one or more integrin inhibitors, and/or one or more glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK-3) inhibitors, the patient having a medical condition selected from the group consisting of dry eye, glaucoma, retinal detachment, retinal degeneration, age-related macular degeneration, a cataract, uveitis, a corneal genetic disease, postoperative inflammation, immune-related inflammatory processes, diabetic retinopathy, a side effect occurring after cataract surgery, a side effect occurring after refractive surgery, and combinations thereof.

Abstract: A method of intracorneal lens implantation with a cross-linked cornea is disclosed herein. The method includes forming a pocket in a cornea of an eye, applying a photosensitizer inside the pocket so that the photosensitizer permeates at least a portion of the tissue bounding the pocket, the photosensitizer facilitating cross-linking of the tissue bounding the pocket; irradiating the cornea so as to activate cross-linkers in the portion of the tissue bounding the pocket, and thereby kill cells therein; inserting a lens implant into the pocket; and applying laser energy to the lens implant in the pocket using a laser so as to correct refractive errors of the lens implant and/or the eye in a non-invasive manner. In other embodiments, a lens implant is soaked in a cross-linking solution that includes a photosensitizer prior to being inserted into the pocket in the cornea of an eye.

Abstract: Methods for treatment of dry eye and other acute or chronic inflammatory processes are disclosed herein. One method includes administering a drug delivery implant to a patient in need thereof, the drug delivery implant comprising one or more Rock inhibitors and/or one or more Wnt inhibitors, the patient having a medical condition selected from the group consisting of dry eye, lichen planus, arthritis, psoriasis, plantar fasciitis, pars planitis, scleritis, keratitis, chronic meibomian gland inflammation, optic nerve neuritis, uveitis, papillitis, diabetic neural pain, diabetic retinopathy, a cataract, a side effect occurring after refractive surgery, a side effect occurring after corneal transplant, a side effect occurring after retinal detachment surgery, and combinations thereof. The administration of the drug delivery implant to the patient treats the medical condition, reduces the symptoms associated with the medical condition, enhances nerve regeneration, and/or alleviates the medical condition.

Abstract: A method for early stage pathology detection, location, imaging, evaluation, and treatment of cells and/or extracellular vesicles in the circulation.

Abstract: A method of corneal transplantation with cross-linking following implantation of a corneal graft is disclosed herein. The method includes the steps of: (i) removing a diseased central portion of a host cornea from an eye of a patient; (ii) implanting a corneal graft into the eye of the patient in a location previously occupied by the diseased central portion of the host cornea; and (iii) cross-linking a peripheral portion of the host cornea and the corneal graft after implanting the corneal graft so as to prevent an immune response to the corneal graft and to prevent a rejection of the corneal graft by the patient. A method of corneal transplantation with cross-linking following implantation of a corneal inlay is also disclosed herein. Also, methods disclosed herein utilize nanoparticles, antibody-coated nanoparticles, and cell penetrating agents to enhance the penetration of a photosensitizer in the cornea of a patient.

Abstract: A method of therapy for a tumor or other pathology by administering a combination of thermotherapy, immunotherapy, and vaccination optionally combined with gene delivery. The combination therapy beneficially treats the tumor and prevents tumor recurrence, either locally or at a different site, by boosting the patient's immune response both at the time or original therapy and/or for later therapy. With respect to gene delivery, the inventive method may be used in cancer therapy, but is not limited to such use; it will be appreciated that the inventive method may be used for gene delivery in general. The controlled and precise application of thermal energy enhances gene transfer to any cell, whether the cell is a neoplastic cell, a pre-neoplastic cell, or a normal cell.

Abstract: A drug delivery implant and a method of using the same are disclosed herein. In one or more embodiments, the method includes forming a pocket in the cornea of the eye to gain access to tissue surrounding the pocket; applying a photosensitizer inside the pocket so the photosensitizer permeates at least a portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket and facilitates cross-linking of the tissue surrounding the pocket; irradiating the cornea to activate cross-linkers in the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket, and thereby stiffen a wall of the pocket and kill cells in the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket; and before or after the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket has been stiffened and is devoid of cellular elements by the activation of the cross-linkers, inserting a corneal drug delivery implant into the pocket configured to release one or more medications into the eye.

Abstract: A method to provide a therapeutic agent to an eye of a patient by implanting or inject a device that stably fits a particular location or position in the eye. The method thus provides agent inside the eye for a longer duration of agent release over a space-occupying area inside the eye.

Abstract: Cancer treatment methods using thermotherapy and/or enhanced immunotherapy are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, the method comprising the steps of administering a plurality of nanoparticles to target a tumor in a patient, the nanoparticles being coated with an antitumor antibody, cell penetrating peptides (CPPs), and a polymer, and the nanoparticles containing medication and/or gene, and a dye or indicator in the polymer coating, at least some of the nanoparticles attaching to surface antigens of tumor cells so as to form a tumor cell/nanoparticle complex; exciting the nanoparticles using an ultrasound source generating an ultrasonic wave so as to peel off the polymer coating of the nanoparticles, thereby releasing the dye or indicator into the circulation of the patient and the medication and/or gene at the tumor site; and imaging a body region of the patient so as to detect the dye or indicator released into the circulation of the patient.

Abstract: A method of implanting a corneal intraocular pressure sensor in an eye of a patient is disclosed herein. The method includes forming a pocket in the cornea of the eye so as to gain access to tissue surrounding the pocket; applying a photosensitizer so that the photosensitizer permeates at least a portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket, the photosensitizer facilitating cross-linking of the tissue surrounding the pocket; irradiating the cornea so as to activate cross-linkers in the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket, and thereby stiffen a wall of the pocket and kill cells in the portion of the tissue surrounding the pocket; and inserting an intracorneal implant comprising a pressure sensor into the pocket, the pressure sensor of the intracorneal implant configured to measure the intraocular pressure of the eye of the patient. A corneal intraocular pressure sensor is also disclosed herein.

Abstract: A method of preventing capsular opacification and fibrosis after cataract extraction and and/or preventing fibrosis around a shunt or stent after glaucoma surgery is disclosed herein. In the cataract procedure, after the cortex and nucleus of the natural lens with the cataract has been removed, a photosensitizer is applied inside the lens capsule, a posterior portion of the lens capsule is irradiated so as to activate cross-linkers and prevent capsular opacification and fibrosis, and an intraocular lens is inserted into the lens capsule. In the glaucoma procedure, a fluid drainage opening is formed and/or a stent is inserted into the eye, a photosensitizer is applied inside an anterior chamber of the eye so that a diffused stream of the photosensitizer travels through the fluid drainage opening or the stent, and the tissue surrounding the fluid drainage opening or the stent is irradiated so as to activate cross-linkers and prevent fibrosis.

Abstract: Methods and compositions to controllably regulate cells at a target site. In one or more embodiments, the method includes (i) administering to a patient in need thereof a plurality of nanoparticles coated with a biocompatible molecule for cell uptake, the nanoparticles conjugated with at least one gene, an antibody that targets the nanoparticles to a target cell, and a deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) editing complex forming a complex of coated nanoparticle-gene-DNA editing complex; (ii) delivering the coated nanoparticle-gene-DNA editing complex to the target cell using the nanoparticle of the complex as a carrier without using a viral vector and without using a plasmid vector; and (iii) stimulating the coated nanoparticle-gene-DNA editing complex with one or more energy sources under conditions sufficient to introduce the at least one gene into the target cell and, using the DNA editing complex, to modify a pathology-inducing DNA in the target cell to treat the patient.

Abstract: A fluidic light field camera is disclosed herein. The fluidic light field camera includes a fluidic objective lens; a fluid control system operatively coupled to the fluidic objective lens, the fluid control system to change the shape of the fluidic objective lens in accordance with the amount of fluid therein; a microlens array disposed behind the fluidic objective lens; a sensor array disposed behind the microlens array; and a data processing device operatively coupled to the fluid control system and the sensor array, the data processing device configured to vary the focal point of the fluidic light field camera by using the fluid control system to control the shape of the fluidic objective lens, thereby enabling all portions of an image being captured by the fluidic light field camera to be in focus during a single recording cycle of the fluidic light field camera.

Abstract: A method for evaluating treatment outcome in a patient having a genetic predisposition for a malignant neoplasm before clinical manifestation of the neoplasm can be seen radiographically. The method permits visualization of any tumor, whether located externally on a patient's body or located internally in the body, and as small as 2 mm in diameter, using a biomarker. The method uses biomarkers conjugated with nanoparticles which include but are not limited to quantum dots, with the conjugated form collectively termed functionalized nanoparticles, that are heated under specified conditions to produce a photoacoustic signal that is then visualized to locate and/or treat the tumor.

Abstract: A flexible fluidic mirror system and a hybrid fluidic optical system is disclosed herein. The flexible fluidic mirror system generally includes a flexible fluidic mirror having an outer housing and a flexible membrane supported within the outer housing, and a fluid control system operatively coupled to the flexible fluidic mirror. A portion of the flexible membrane comprises a reflective coating or film or nanoparticles disposed thereon or sprayed on. The hybrid fluidic optical system generally includes a hybrid fluidic optical device (i.e., a lens or mirror) having an outer housing and a flexible membrane supported within the outer housing, and a fluid control system operatively coupled to the hybrid fluidic optical device. The hybrid fluidic optical device further includes a magnetically actuated subsystem configured to selectively deform the flexible membrane so as to increase or decrease the convexity of the flexible membrane of the hybrid fluidic optical device.

Abstract: An integral laser imaging and treatment apparatus, and associated systems and methods that allow a physician (e.g., a surgeon) to perform laser surgical procedures on an eye structure or a body surface with an integral laser imaging and treatment apparatus disposed at a first (i.e. local) location from a control system disposed at a second (i.e. remote) location, e.g., a physician's office. In some embodiments, communication between the integral laser imaging and treatment apparatus and control system is achieved via the Internet®. Also, in some embodiments, the laser imaging and treatment apparatus includes a dynamic imaging system that verifies the identity of a patient, and is capable of being used for other important applications, such as tracking and analyzing trends in a disease process. Further, in some embodiments, the laser imaging and treatment apparatus determines the geographical location of the local laser generation unit of the system using GPS.

Abstract: A method of therapy for a tumor or other pathology by administering a combination of thermotherapy and immunotherapy optionally combined with gene delivery. The combination therapy beneficially treats the tumor and prevents tumor recurrence, either locally or at a different site, by boosting the patient's immune response both at the time of original therapy and/or for later therapy. With respect to gene delivery, the inventive method may be used in cancer therapy, but is not limited to such use; it will be appreciated that the inventive method may be used for gene delivery in general. The controlled and precise application of thermal energy enhances gene transfer to any cell, whether the cell is a neoplastic cell, a pre-neoplastic cell, or a normal cell.