PURPOSE: To study parameters for ocular femtosecond laser surgery in terms of process efficiency and safety aspects using ultraviolet (UV) femtosecond laser pulses. METHODS: Studies on corneal surgery and flap processing on enucleated porcine eyes were performed using a newly developed ytterbium-doped gain media laser source. Ultraviolet femtosecond laser pulses centered at a wavelength of 345 nm and working at a repetition rate of 100 kHz were generated by the third harmonics of the 1035-nm fundamental wavelength. RESULTS: Flaps with a diameter of 6 mm and a thickness of 100 microm were created in less than 2 minutes with low energy pulses. Transmissions and spectral measurements were performed during flap processing. Less than 2% UV radiation reaches the retina during corneal flap processing. A detectable transmittance towards the retina of visible light centered on 440 nm was found for UV pulses. CONCLUSIONS: Ultraviolet corneal refractive surgery is a novel procedure and has the potential to be an alternative to infrared refractive surgery considering safety aspects.
PURPOSE: To study parameters for ocular femtosecond laser surgery in terms of process efficiency and safety aspects using ultraviolet (UV) femtosecond laser pulses. METHODS: Studies on corneal surgery and flap processing on enucleated porcine eyes were performed using a newly developed ytterbium-doped gain media laser source. Ultraviolet femtosecond laser pulses centered at a wavelength of 345 nm and working at a repetition rate of 100 kHz were generated by the third harmonics of the 1035-nm fundamental wavelength. RESULTS: Flaps with a diameter of 6 mm and a thickness of 100 microm were created in less than 2 minutes with low energy pulses. Transmissions and spectral measurements were performed during flap processing. Less than 2% UV radiation reaches the retina during corneal flap processing. A detectable transmittance towards the retina of visible light centered on 440 nm was found for UV pulses. CONCLUSIONS: Ultraviolet corneal refractive surgery is a novel procedure and has the potential to be an alternative to infrared refractive surgery considering safety aspects.
Authors: Johannes Menzel-Severing; Corinna Petsch; Theofilos Tourtas; Naresh Polisetti; Jörg Klenke; Katrin Skerl; Christian Wüllner; Christof Donitzky; Friedrich E Kruse; Jan Kremers; Christian M Hammer Journal: PLoS One Date: 2015-09-11 Impact factor: 3.240