<PAGE>
 
    As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6, 1999

                                                            File No. 333-
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                 ------------

                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

                                 ------------

                            SUMMIT TECHNOLOGY, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

          Massachusetts                                   04-2897945
  (State or other jurisdiction                         (I.R.S. Employer
of incorporation or organization)                     Identification No.)


                                21 Hickory Drive
                          Waltham, Massachusetts 02451
          (Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

                                 ------------

           AUTONOMOUS TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION 1995 STOCK OPTION PLAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                            (Full title of the plan)

                            James A. Lightman, Esq.
                       Vice President and General Counsel
                            Summit Technology, Inc.
                                21 Hickory Drive
                         Waltham, Massachusetts  02451
                                 (781) 890-1234
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Name, Address and Telephone Number, including Area Code, of Agent for Service)

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
=====================================================================================================================
  Title of Securities         Amount to be       Proposed Maximum        Proposed Maximum         Amount of
 to be Registered/(1)/         Registered         Offering Price        Aggregate Offering       Registration
                                                  Per Share                   Price                  Fee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S>                       <C>                   <C>                    <C>                      <C> 
Common Stock,                  868,689 shs.           $15.50/(2)/           $5,154,487              $1,433
$0.01 par value
======================================================================================================================
</TABLE>

/(1)/Includes associated common stock purchase rights.

/(2)/The offering price for shares subject to the options on the date hereof is
     the actual exercise prices for such options which range from $3.95 to 
     $15.50 per share.


                          Exhibit Index on page II-5;
                              Page 1 of 15 pages.

================================================================================
<PAGE>
 
                                    PART II

               INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3.   Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
          --------------------------------------- 

     Summit Technology, Inc. (the "Registrant" or the "Company") hereby
incorporates the following documents herein by reference:

     (i)   Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998
           including portions of the Company's definitive proxy statement filed
           in connection with the Company's 1999 annual meeting of
           stockholders.

     (ii)  Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
           Commission on March 23, 1999, April 28, 1999 and May 4, 1999,
           including an amendment on Form 8-K/A filed on January 14, 1999.

     (iii) The description of the Company's common stock and the associated
           common stock purchase rights contained in the Company's Registration
           Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Securities and Exchange
           Commission on April 2, 1990.

All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a),
Section 13(c), Section 14 and Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the
filing of a post-effective amendment to this registration statement that
indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all
securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed incorporated herein by
reference from the date of filing of such documents.

Item 4.   Description of Securities.
          ------------------------- 

     Not applicable.

Item 5.   Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
          -------------------------------------- 
 
     Not applicable.

Item 6.   Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
          ----------------------------------------- 

     In Massachusetts, a corporation's articles of organization may limit the
personal liability of its directors for breaches of their fiduciary duties.
Under the Massachusetts Business Corporation Law (the "MBCL"), this limitation
is generally unavailable for acts or omissions by a director which (i) were in
violation of such director's duty of loyalty, (ii) were in bad faith or which
involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, or (iii) involved
a financial profit or other advantage to which the director was not legally
entitled.  The MBCL also prohibits the elimination or limitation of director
liability for unauthorized loans to insiders or distributions that occur when a
corporation is, or which renders a corporation, insolvent.  The MBCL also
generally permits indemnification of directors, officers, employees and certain
others for expenses incurred by them by reason of their position with the
corporation, if such person has acted in good faith and with the reasonable
belief that his or her conduct was in, or not opposed to, the best interest of
the corporation.

     The Company's articles allow for limitations on directors' liability as
permitted by the MBCL.  The Company's by-laws provide that the corporation shall
indemnify against all liabilities and expenses, including reasonable fees of
counsel, any person threatened with or made a party to any action, suit or other
proceeding by reason of the fact that he, she, his or her testator or intestate,
is or was a director, officer, employee or other agent of the corporation, or is
or was a director, officer, employee or other agent of the corporation who
serves or served, at the request of the corporation, as a director, officer,
employee or other agent of another organization 

                                    

                                      II-1
<PAGE>
 
or who, at the request of the corporation, serves or served in any capacity
with respect to an employee benefit plan. However, as to matters disposed of by
a compromise payment, pursuant to a consent decree or otherwise, no
reimbursement, either for said payment or for any other expenses in connection
with the matter so disposed of, shall be provided unless such compromise shall
be approved: (i) by a disinterested majority of the directors then in office; or
(ii) if a majority of such directors are interested, by a majority of the
disinterested directors then in office, provided that independent legal counsel
has given a written opinion to the effect that such director or officer does not
appear not to have acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his action
was in the best interests of the corporation or, to the extent that such matter
relates to service, in the best interests of the participants of an employee
benefit plan; or (iii) by the holders of a majority of the outstanding stock at
the time entitled to vote for directors, not counting as outstanding any stock
owned by any interested person. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no
indemnification shall be provided for any person with respect to any matter as
to which such person shall have been adjudicated in any proceeding not to have
acted in good faith in the reasonable belief that his or her action was in the
best interests of the corporation or of the participants or beneficiaries of the
employee benefit plan.

Item 7.   Exemption From Registration Claimed.
          ----------------------------------- 

     Not applicable.

Item 8.   Exhibits.
          -------- 

Exhibit

 4.1.  Articles of Organization, as amended, of the Company (incorporated by
       reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for
       the year ended December 31, 1992).

 4.2.  Amendment to the Articles of Organization of the Company dated 
       September 7, 1994 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 of the
       Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
       1994).

 4.3.  Amendment to the Articles of Organization of the Company dated July 16, 
       1997. 

 4.4.  By-laws, as amended, of the Company (incorporated by reference to Exhibit
       3(b) of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
       December 31, 1994).

 4.5.  Rights Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 1 to the Company's
       Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the Securities and Exchange
       Commission on April 2, 1990).

 5.    Opinion of Ropes & Gray.

23.1.  Consent of Deloitte & Touche LLP.

23.2.  Consent of KPMG Peat Marwick LLP.

23.4.  Consent of Ropes & Gray (contained in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5 to
       this registration statement).

24.    Power of Attorney (included on signature page).


Item 9.   Undertakings.
          ------------ 

     (a)  The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

     (1)  To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
  post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

                                      II-2
<PAGE>
 
     (i)  To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the
  Securities Act of 1933;

     (ii)  To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the
  effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-
  effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate,
  represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the
  registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or
  decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of
  securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any
  deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may
  be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to
  Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no
  more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth
  in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective registration
  statement.

     (iii)  To include any material information with respect to the plan of
  distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any
  material change to such information in the registration statement;

  provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if
  the registration statement is on Form S-3, Form S-8 or Form F-3, and the
  information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those
  paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the
  Commission by the registrant pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
  Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration
  statement.

     (2)  That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
  Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to
  be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein,
  and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the
  initial bona fide offering thereof;

     (3)  To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any
  of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of
  the offering.

     (b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of
determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities
at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

     (c) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities
Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of
the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange
Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act
and is, therefore, unenforceable.  In the event that a claim for indemnification
against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses
incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant
in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being
registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter
has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate
jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public
policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of
such issue.

                                      II-3
<PAGE>
 
                                   SIGNATURES

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the
Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all
of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement on Form S-8 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto
duly authorized, in the City of Waltham, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on
this 29th day April, 1999.

                                    SUMMIT TECHNOLOGY, INC.
 


                                    By: /s/ Robert J. Palmisano
                                        -------------------------------------
                                        Name:   Robert J. Palmisano
                                        Title:  Chief Executive Officer


                                 POWER OF ATTORNEY

     Pursuant to the requirement of the Securities Act of 1933, this
Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the
capacities and on the dates indicated.  Each person whose signature appears
below hereby authorizes and constitutes Robert J. Palmisano and James A.
Lightman, and each of them singly, his true and lawful attorneys with full power
to them, and each of them singly, to sign for him and in his name in the
capacities indicated below any and all amendments (including post-effective
amendments) to this Registration Statement and to file the same, with exhibits
thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, and he hereby ratifies and
confirms his signature as it may be signed by said attorneys, or any of them, to
any and all such amendments.


Signature                       Capacity in Which Signed           Date
-----------                     ------------------------           ----
 
                            
/s/ Robert J. Palmisano     Chief Executive Officer and       April 29, 1999 
-----------------------     Director (principal executive                    
Robert J. Palmisano         officer)                                         
                                                                             
/s/ Robert J. Kelly         Executive Vice President, Chief   April 29, 1999 
-----------------------     Financial Officer and Treasurer                   
Robert J. Kelly

/s/ Jeffrey A. Bernfeld     Director                          April 29, 1999
-----------------------                                    
Jeffrey A. Bernfeld 

/s/ Richard F. Miller       Director                          April 29, 1999
---------------------                                     
Richard F. Miller 

/s/ John A. Norris          Director                          April 29, 1999
---------------------                                        
John A. Norris
  
/s/ Richard M. Traskos      Director                          April 29, 1999
----------------------    
Richard M. Traskos

                                      II-4
<PAGE>
 
                                 EXHIBIT INDEX
 
  Number            Title of Exhibit              Page
  ------            ----------------              ----

     4.1.  Articles of Organization, as
           amended, of the Company
           (incorporated by reference to
           Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's
           Annual Report on Form 10-K
           for the year ended December
           31, 1992).

     4.2.  Amendment to the Articles of
           Organization of the Company
           dated September 7, 1994
           (incorporated by reference to
           Exhibit 3.1 of the Company's
           Annual Report on Form 10-K
           for the year ended 
           December 31, 1994).

     4.3   Amendment to the Articles of          
           Organization of the Company 
           dated July 16, 1997. 

     4.4.  By-laws, as amended, of the
           Company (incorporated by
           reference to Exhibit 3(b) of the
           Company's Annual Report on
           Form 10-K for the year ended
           December 31, 1994).
 
     4.5.  Rights Agreement (incorporated
           by reference to Exhibit 1 to the
           Company's Registration
           Statement on Form 8-A filed
           with the Securities and
           Exchange Commission on April
           2, 1990).

     5.    Opinion of Ropes & Gray.              

    23.1.  Consent of Deloitte & Touche          
           LLP.
 
    23.2.  Consent of KPMG Peat                  
           Marwick LLP.
 
    23.3.  Consent of Ropes & Gray
           (contained in the opinion filed
           as Exhibit 5 to this registration
           statement).
 
    24.    Power of Attorney (included on
           signature page).