Abstract: A laser assembly includes a lasing medium enclosure for containing a lasing medium. A pumping source stimulates the lasing medium within the lasing medium enclosure. The laser assembly further includes a lasing medium supply reservoir for storing a quantity of the lasing medium therein. The lasing medium includes a fluid outlet and the lasing medium enclosure includes a fluid outlet. A fluid connection is provided between the fluid inlet and the fluid outlet, and at least one fluid seal is associated with the fluid connection.

Abstract: A method for correction of a simple astigmatism of a corneal surface of an eye is provided. The method provides a laser operable to produce a pulsed output laser beam. A scanning mechanism is positioned to operatively receive the pulsed output laser beam of the laser and operable to control the scanning of the pulsed output laser beam over a target surface to be ablated. A computer system is operatively connected to the scanning mechanism for control thereof with the computer system operable to determine a desired configuration of an ablation to be performed on the target surface and to define a boundary associated with the ablation.

Abstract: An air-cooled gas laser assembly includes a gas discharge tube, and an air-cooled heat exchanger adjacent the gas discharge tube. A stationary intervening layer is mechanically and thermally connected between the gas discharge tube and the air-cooled heat exchanger and includes a thermally conductive pliable material. The stationary intervening layer may be in direct contact with the gas discharge tube and the air-cooled heat exchanger. The thermally conductive pliable material may include a paste material, a liquid, or a silicone rubber mixed with a metallic powder.

Abstract: A device for eliminating decentration error due to parallax during ophthalmic laser surgery comprises a stereo microscope having a first ocular and a second ocular and an objective lens for viewing a patient's eye, a laser for projecting a laser beam at a patient's eye during ophthalmic laser surgery; and structure for aligning the objective lens relative to the first ocular to center the laser beam with a patient's eye. The device for eliminating decentration error due to parallax also comprises prism positioned between either the first ocular and the objective lens or the objective lens and the laser beam.

Abstract: A laser assembly, particularly one employing a gas lasing medium, has at least one lasing gas supply reservoir that is separate from the housing enclosure for the laser's optical cavity. A flexible or semi-flexible conduit supplies lasing gas from the reservoir to the optical cavity, so as to allow the laser per se and the gas reservoir to be manufactured separately and then connected by the tubing, thus simplifying the design and manufacturing process. The laser is preferably operated as a pulsed gas discharge laser that produces a continuous laser output. One or both of the laser's cavity mirrors may be coated with fine parallel lines which constrain the laser output to be linearly polarized. The lasing medium may have a stepwise or tapered structure, which provides for selection of the most desirable TEM00 mode. In addition, the lasing medium cavity may be cooled by a multiple cooling jacket structure to facilitate placement of the coolant inlet and outlet ports.

Abstract: A laser beam delivery apparatus and a method for smoothly and uniformly ablating tissue, e.g., for reshaping a cornea of an eye, even in the face of real-world conditions such as a moving eye. The method includes defining a plurality of scan lines in an ablation zone on the tissue and defining a plurality of laser beam ablation points along each of the scan lines. An ablating laser beam is scanned along a series of non-adjacent scan lines of the plurality of scan lines and tissue is intermittently ablated at non-adjacent ones of the laser beam ablation points on each non-adjacent scan line of the series of non-adjacent scan lines.

Abstract: A laser beam delivery system and a method for ablating tissue, e.g., for reshaping a cornea of an eye is provided. The laser beam delivery system directs a laser beam on the tissue to be ablated in a predetermined pattern according to the principles of the present invention. The laser beam is incrementally scanned to subsequent laser beam ablation points or spots in the ablation zone in accordance with the predetermined pattern. The laser beam ablates tissue at the spots in the predetermined pattern in an arranged order. In one aspect of the present invention, the radii of the predetermined pattern is varied between scans of the laser beam until a predetermined reshaping is achieved by ablation. In another aspect of the present invention, every other, every third, every fourth, etc. laser beam spot in a predetermined pattern is ablated, and the scans are repeated for unablated points until all spots are ablated.

Abstract: An apparatus is provided for performing corneal refractive surgery by ablating a portion of a corneal surface of an eye. The apparatus includes a pulsed laser for producing a pulsed output beam of light. A scanning mechanism scans the output beam, and the output beam is operatively associated with the scanning mechanism such that the output beam may be scanned over a predetermined surface defined by a mathematically derived ablation layer boundary curve for each ablation layer. A controller is operatively associated with the scanning mechanism so as to deliver output beams to the predetermined surface such that center points of output beams may be disposed within the ablation layer boundary curve, on the ablation layer boundary curve, and outside but within a predetermined distance from a nearest point on the ablation layer boundary curve so as to integrate the edges of the ablation layer boundary curve to more closely correspond to the desired ablated shape.

Abstract: A device for controlling the position of a patient's eyes during ophthalmic laser surgery is disclosed which comprises a first fixation object positioned within view of the patient's eye that is undergoing treatment, a second fixation object positioned within view of the patient's eye that is not undergoing treatment, and structure for controlling the position of the second fixation object. The present device allows the patient to maintain fixation on a visual target and maintain the eye undergoing treatment in a steady position even when vision in the eye undergoing treatment becomes blurred during laser ablation.