Patent ID: 6626896
Filing Date: 2003-09-30
Classification: A61B,A61F

Abstract:
A method of correcting vision by ablating corneal tissue comprising the steps of:providing a laser beam for ablating corneal tissue; the laser beam providing laser beam shots, each shot having a size, duration, and center point; selecting an area of the cornea for ablation; determining the size of the laser shots so that the shots are smaller than the the selected for ablation; selecting a pattern and sequence for the placement of the laser beam shots on the selected area of the cornea to obtain the removal of a desired amount of corneal tissue; placing the laser beam shots on the selected area of the cornea in the selected pattern and sequence; the placed laser beam shots ablating corneal tissue; subsequent shots in the pattern having their centers spaced at least one shot size apart; the pattern and sequence selected such that no laser shots are fired at consecutive locations and such that no consecutive shots overlap; and, the pattern and sequence selected to allow a cloud of ablated corneal tissue particles to dissipate in one place before contacting that place again with another laser shot.