Patent ID: 8409179

Claim:
A system for performing intrastromal laser refractive surgery on an eye defining an axis, the system comprising: a laser unit for generating a pulsed laser beam to provide for the Laser Induced Optical Breakdown (LIOB) of tissue at successive focal spots in the stroma to weaken stromal tissue and redistribute biomechanical forces in the stroma of a cornea having a corneal thickness “T”; a device for stabilizing the eye, to hold the axis of the eye substantially stationary during the surgery; a computer program, wherein the computer program defines a plurality of unconnected cuts, wherein each cut is made on portions of a respective cylindrical surface, wherein the respective cylindrical surfaces are concentric and are centered on the axis of the eye, and further wherein each cylindrical surface has an anterior end and a posterior end, with the posterior end of the cut being located in the stroma less than approximately 0.9 T from an anterior surface of the eye, and the anterior end of the cylindrical cut is located in the stroma more than at least eight microns in a posterior direction from Bowman's capsule in the cornea, with the weakened stromal tissue being responsive to an intraocular pressure for surgically reshaping the cornea; and a computer electronically connected with the laser unit for using the computer program to move the focal spot of the laser beam through the stroma to create the cuts in the stroma.