Patent ID: 7207983

Claim:
A laser-based refractive surgery system, comprising: a laser source including a laser controller for providing an incident laser beam, wherein at least a portion of said incident beam is directed to target eye tissue of a patient, said incident beam portion producing a reflected beam after striking said eye tissue; at least one detector, said detector for detecting said reflected beam, and a computer or data processor communicably coupled to said detector and said laser controller, wherein said computer or data processor generates a cross-correlation function using a plurality of discrete points which digitally represent a waveform representation of said reflected beam and a plurality of reference points, said computer or data processor providing a correlation between said cross-correlation function or a parameter derived therefrom with an ablation rate of said eye tissue, wherein said laser controller uses said cross-correlation function, a parameter derived therefrom or said ablation rate, to adjust at least one operating parameter of said laser beam in real-time during a refractory procedure.