Patent ID: 6293938
Filing Date: 2001-09-25
Classification: A61F

Abstract:
A photo-refractive keratectomy system for producing a desired refractive correction in an ablation area in a cornea of a patient's eye comprising:a source of a beam of photoablating radiation capable of ablating the cornea of the patient's eye during a photo-refractive keratectomy procedure; anda humidified gas flow producer, disposed between the source and the ablation area, for removing material from a surface of the ablation area in a manner substantially preventing a plume of ablation products produced by the photoablating radiation from causing non-uniform ablation of the patient's cornea, by producing a plume-altering flow of humidified gas through an orifice as a series of intermittent puffs of the gas and at a velocity sufficient to substantially prevent non-uniform ablation of the patient's cornea, the puffs being delivered to the ablation area at a plurality of times substantially synchronized with an incidence of the photoablating radiation upon the ablation area.