Laser Cataract Surgery More Accurate Than Manual

Laser Cataract Surgery More Accurate Than Manual.
Cataract surgery, already an darned non-poisonous and successful procedure, can be made more precise by combining a laser and three-dimensional imaging, a untrodden study suggests. Researchers found that a femtosecond laser, used for many years in LASIK surgery, can edit into delicate eye tissue more cleanly and accurately than manual cataract surgery, which is performed more than 1,5 million times each year in the United States. In the in touch procedure, which has a 98 percent good rate, surgeons use a micro-blade to cut a circle around the cornea before extracting the cataract with an ultrasound machine.

The laser system uses optical coherence technology to customize each patient's orb measurements before slicing through the lens capsule and cataract, though ultrasound is still used to remove the cataract itself. "It takes some artistry and energy to break the lens with the ultrasound," explained induce researcher Daniel Palanker, an associate professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University. "The laser helps to bowl along this up and make it safer".

After practicing the laser procedure on pig eyes and donated benignant eyes, Palanker and his colleagues did further experiments to confirm that the high-powered, rapid-pulse laser would not cause retinal damage. Actual surgeries later performed on 50 patients between the ages of 55 and 80 showed that the laser adulterate circles in lens capsules 12 times more demanding than those achieved by the customary method. No adverse effects were reported.

The study, reported in the Nov 17, 2010 issuance of Science Translational Medicine, was funded by OpticaMedica Corp of Santa Clara, Calif, in which Palanker has an tolerance stake. The results are being reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration, while the laser technology, which is being developed by several confidential companies, is expected to be released worldwide in 2011.