Patent ID: 7582081

Claim:
A system for performing selective ablation of a corneal surface of an eye to effect a desired corneal shape, the system comprising: a laser that generates a laser beam; delivery optics coupled to the laser that directs the laser beam onto a corneal surface of an eye; a variable aperture element that profiles the laser beam to perform cylindrical corrections on the cornea; and a laser beam direction system that displaces the laser beam across the cornea, wherein the laser beam direction system and the variable aperture element operate in conjunction to change the corneal surface from an initial curvature having hyperopic and astigmatic optical properties to a subsequent curvature having correctively improved optical properties, wherein the laser beam direction system comprises an imaging lens positioned between the variable aperture element and the eye, and a translational motor for translating the imaging lens along a linear direction so as to translate an image of the variable aperture element across the corneal surface.