Patents by Inventor Dirk Muhlhoff
Dirk Muhlhoff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 7976155Abstract: An adapter to be applied in contact with an anterior corneal surface. The adapter includes a contact glass portion having a corneal contact surface curvature that is flatter than the undeformed anterior corneal surface. When the contact glass is applied the cornea assumes a deformed state corneal curvature that is parallel to the flatter corneal contact surface curvature. A mount portion circumferentially surrounds the contact glass portion and defines a suction duct that is structured to secure the adapter to the cornea by negative pressure when the suction duct is brought into contact with a surface of the eye surrounding the contact glass portion. The suction duct is partially defined by a peripheral edge of the mount that extends outwardly away from the mount portion and toward but not intersecting or extending beyond a geometric continuation of the corneal contact surface curvature.Type: GrantFiled: March 24, 2010Date of Patent: July 12, 2011Assignee: Carl Zeiss Meditec AGInventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Elke Ebert, Karsten Festag, Uwe Wolf
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Patent number: 7842030Abstract: In a device for detecting eye movements, used in an eye-surgical instrument, which deflects a pulsed treatment laser beam over the cornea in order to form cut areas in the cornea of the eye, and thus forms a sequence of optical breakthroughs in or on the cornea, wherein an optical unit is provided for monitoring the cornea, it is provided that the optical unit monitors the position of at least one optical breakthrough generated in the cornea and recognizes an eye movement on the basis of a migration movement of the monitored optical breakthrough.Type: GrantFiled: April 15, 2005Date of Patent: November 30, 2010Assignee: Carl Zeiss Meditec AGInventor: Dirk Muhlhoff
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Patent number: 7784944Abstract: A device for determining a movement of an eye includes an illumination unit by which optical radiation can be generated and emitted as an illumination ray bundle for illumination of at least one area of the cornea of the eye, a distance-determining unit, by which the illumination ray bundle returned as a detection ray bundle by the cornea can be received in a temporally resolved manner. A distance signal corresponding to a distance of the cornea from a reference plane can be generated using the received optical radiation of the detection ray bundle. the reference plane is defined relative to the distance-determining unit, and an evaluating unit, by which a position or movement signal corresponding to a position or movement of the eye can be generated using the distance signal.Type: GrantFiled: June 7, 2004Date of Patent: August 31, 2010Assignee: Carl Zeiss Meditec AGInventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Mario Gerlach
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Publication number: 20080243109Abstract: The invention relates to a method for producing cuts in a transparent material, in particular in the cornea, by creating optical openings in said material by means of laser radiation that is focused in said material, whereby the focal point is displaced in order to produce the cut from a surface grid-type array of optical openings arranged in sequence. The focal point is displaced along a trajectory and optical openings along said trajectory that are adjacent are not produced immediately after one another. In addition, the surface grid-type array of optical openings is constructed from at least two sub-grids, the optical openings of which are processed sequentially grid by grid.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 29, 2004Publication date: October 2, 2008Inventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Mark Bischoff, Mario Gerlach, Carsten Lang, Markus Sticker, Michael Bergt
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Publication number: 20080243107Abstract: The invention relates to a laser treatment unit for performing eye surgery, comprising a contact glass (23), which can be placed onto the eye (21) and via which a treatment laser beam (2) passes. A safety mechanism (24, 25) is provided that displaceably holds the contact glass (23) in such a manner that the contact glass retreats when the contact glass (23) is subjected to the action of a force contrary to the direction of incidence of the laser beam. The safety mechanism (24, 25) enables this retreating when a force is greater than a force limit value (Fmin) and holds the contact glass (23) in a fixed manner when the force is less than the force limit value.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 10, 2006Publication date: October 2, 2008Inventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Carsten Lang, Karsten Festag
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Publication number: 20080065052Abstract: A device for material processing by laser radiation, including a source of laser radiation emitting pulsed laser radiation for interaction with the material, optics focusing the pulsed processing laser radiation to a center of interaction in the material, and a scanning unit shifting the positions of the center of interaction within the material. Each processing laser pulse interacting with the material in a zone surrounding the center of interaction assigned to the laser pulse so that material is separated in the zones of interaction. A control unit controls the scanning unit and the source of laser radiation such that a cut surface is produced in the material by sequential arrangement of zones of interaction. The control unit controls the source of laser radiation and the scanning unit such that adjacent centers of interaction are located at a spatial distance a ?10 ?m from each other.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 13, 2006Publication date: March 13, 2008Applicant: Carl Zeiss Meditec AGInventors: Mark Bischoff, Dirk Muhlhoff, Gregor Stobrawa
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Publication number: 20080021443Abstract: Disclosed is a laser device for machining material, comprising a laser beam source which supplies pulsed laser radiation, and a variable deflection unit that introduces said laser radiation into the material at different, selectable points so as to create optical breakthroughs. The inventive laser device further comprises a pulse-selecting apparatus which modifies selected laser pulses of the pulsed laser radiation regarding at least one optical parameter in such a way that no more optical breakthroughs can be created using the modified laser pulses.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 15, 2004Publication date: January 24, 2008Inventors: Mark Bischoff, Dirk Muhlhoff, Mario Gerlach
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Publication number: 20070293851Abstract: The invention relates to a method for forming curved cuts in a transparent material, in particular in the cornea, by the creation of optical perforations in said material using laser radiation that is focused in the material. The focal point is displaced three-dimensionally to form the cut by lining up the optical perforations. The focal point is displaced in a first spatial direction by a displaceable lens and said focal directions, in such a way that it follows the contours of the cut, which lie on a plane that is substantially perpendicular to the first spatial direction.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 23, 2004Publication date: December 20, 2007Applicant: CARL ZEISS MEDITEC AGInventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Mario Gerlach, Markus Sticker, Carsten Lang, Mark Bischoff, Michael Bergt
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Publication number: 20070253083Abstract: An adapter for coupling a laser processing device to an object, said adapter having a central region which can be moved into the beam path of the laser processing device, an illumination beam path through which illumination radiation can be guided for illumination of an object field which can be covered by the central region, and a peripheral region located outside the central region and by which the adapter can be mounted on the object and/or on the laser processing device, wherein the illumination beam path extends in the peripheral region and guides illumination radiation, coupled into the peripheral region, to the object field direct and/or via the central region.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 18, 2004Publication date: November 1, 2007Inventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Elke Ebert, Karsten Festag, Uwe Wolf
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Publication number: 20070193987Abstract: The aim of the invention is to machine a material by application of non-linear radiation. The aim is achieved by modifying the laser radiation emitted by a laser beam source with the aid of a polarization modulator in such a way that laser radiation focused into the material is polarized in a linear fashion, the direction of polarization varying across the cross section of the beam.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 22, 2005Publication date: August 23, 2007Inventors: Mark Bischoff, Dirk Muhlhoff, Gregor Stobrawa
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Publication number: 20070179483Abstract: A method of forming a cut which encloses a partial volume within a transparent material, by generating optical breakthroughs in the material by means of laser radiation focused into the material along an optical axis in which the focal point is three-dimensionally adjusted so as to form the cut by serial arrangement of the optical breakthroughs, wherein the focal point is adjusted along a spatial spiral, which is located in the cut and extends along a main axis that is at substantially right angles to the optical axis.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 21, 2004Publication date: August 2, 2007Applicant: CARL ZEISS MEDITEC AGInventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Mario Gerlach, Markus Sticker, Carsten Lang, Mark Bischoff, Michael Bergt
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Publication number: 20060279698Abstract: A device for determining a movement of an eye includes an illumination unit by which optical radiation can be generated and emitted as an illumination ray bundle for illumination of at least one area of the cornea of the eye, a distance-determining unit, by which the illumination ray bundle returned as a detection ray bundle by the cornea can be received in a temporally resolved manner. A distance signal corresponding to a distance of the cornea from a reference plane can be generated using the received optical radiation of the detection ray bundle the reference plane is defined relative to the distance-determining unit, and an evaluating unit, by which a position or movement signal corresponding to a position or movement of the eye can be generated using the distance signal.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 7, 2004Publication date: December 14, 2006Applicant: CARL ZEISS MEDITEC AGInventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Mario Gerlach
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Publication number: 20060195075Abstract: The invention relates to a method for forming curved sections in a transparent material, especially in a cornea, by producing optical breaks at various points in the material by means of pulsed laser beams focused into the material. The laser beam is deviated in a two-dimensional manner from a deviation point in order to form the section by arranging the optical breaks in a sequence. The two-dimensional deviation occurs such that the areas of the optical opening along a curve, whereon the optical openings are arranged in a sequence, are arranged at a distance in relation to the deviation point according to an angle function which is not linear and which is adapted to the curvature of the section. The areas along the curve adjacent to optical openings inside a specific tolerance range are arranged at an even distance.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 13, 2004Publication date: August 31, 2006Inventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Mario Gerlach, Markus Sticker, Carsten Lang, Mark Bischoff, Michael Bergt
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Publication number: 20060106371Abstract: The invention relates to a device for measuring an optical penetration that is triggered in a tissue underneath the tissue surface by means of therapeutic laser radiation which a laser-surgical device concentrates in a treatment focus located in said tissue. The inventive device is provided with a detection beam path comprising a lens system which couples radiation emanating from the tissue underneath the tissue surface into the detection beam path. A detector device generating a detection signal which indicates the spatial dimension and/or position of the optical penetration in the issue is arranged downstream of the detection beam path.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 22, 2003Publication date: May 18, 2006Inventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Michael Kempe, Markus Strehle, Mario Gerlach, Markus Sticker, Mark Bischoff
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Publication number: 20060001951Abstract: The invention relates to a laser comprising a cavity which is defined by an end mirror and a decoupling mirror. A fibre comprising an active core is arranged in said cavity and can be excited by pump radiation until it has a multimodal laser activity, in such a way that a plurality of transversal modes form in the cavity. A mixture of modes is present in the fibre, and the decoupling mirror comprises reflection properties for laser and pump radiation, said properties varying according to the location, such that it reflects the pump radiation and the laser radiation which does not leave the active core of the fibre, and significantly decouples low transversal modes.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 11, 2003Publication date: January 5, 2006Inventors: Michael Kempe, Dirk Muhlhoff, Stefan Mack
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Publication number: 20050251114Abstract: In a device for detecting eye movements, used in an eye-surgical instrument, which deflects a pulsed treatment laser beam over the cornea in order to form cut areas in the cornea of the eye, and thus forms a sequence of optical breakthroughs in or on the cornea, wherein an optical unit is provided for monitoring the cornea, it is provided that the optical unit monitors the position of at least one optical breakthrough generated in the cornea and recognizes an eye movement on the basis of a migration movement of the monitored optical breakthrough.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 15, 2005Publication date: November 10, 2005Inventor: Dirk Muhlhoff
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Publication number: 20050110955Abstract: A projection device for projecting a multi-colored image including a light source unit emitting light of different colors, a light modulator unit, illumination optics arranged between the light source unit and the light modulator unit and directing light from the light source unit onto the light modulator unit, projection optics arranged following the light modulator unit. The projection optics project an image generated by means of the light modulator unit onto a projection surface and the light source unit includes light emitting diodes as the light-generating elements.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 30, 2004Publication date: May 26, 2005Inventors: Arne Trollsch, Dirk Muhlhoff, Markus Strehle
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Publication number: 20020181089Abstract: In order to enable adjustment of the output wavelength of a laser, there is provided a laser comprising a laser-active material (100), which is excitable at not less than two laser wavelengths to emit laser beams with a gain, said gain being different at the two laser wavelengths, a resonator comprising two end mirrors (102, 110; 130, 132), in which resonator the laser-active material (100) is arranged and which resonator is adapted, with respect to its resonance conditions, to the laser wavelength having the lower gain, wherein one of said end mirrors (110, 132) is partially transmissive for radiation at said laser wavelengths, an output mirror (116), which is partially transmissive for said laser wavelengths and is arranged following the partially transmissive end mirror (110, 132) in the optical path, an optical element (112, 120), which is arranged between the partially transmissive end mirror (110, 132) and the output mirror (116), on which radiation is incident at said laser wavelengths and which has anType: ApplicationFiled: May 31, 2002Publication date: December 5, 2002Inventors: Dirk Muhlhoff, Michael Kempe