WO1993016631A1

WO1993016631A1 - Automated laser workstation for high precision surgical and industrial interventions

Info

Publication number: WO1993016631A1
Application number: PCT/US1993/001787
Authority: WO
Inventors: Carl F. Knopp; William D. Fountain; Jerzy Orkiszewski; Michael Persiantsev; Alfred Sklar; Jan Wysopal
Original assignee: Phoenix Laser Systems, Inc.
Priority date: 1992-02-27
Filing date: 1993-02-26
Publication date: 1993-09-02
Also published as: EP0630205A4; EP0630205A1; CA2130999A1; AU3781193A

Abstract

A method, apparatus and system for template-controlled, precision laser interventions is described for microsurgery, and industrial micromachining. The system includes a user interface, wherein the user can either draw, adjust, or designate particular template patterns overlaid on live video images of the target and provides the means for converting the template pattern into a sequence of laser shots on the corresponding surgical or industrial site. The user interface also continuously presents three dimensional visual information to the surgeon/user during the operation. The system thus comprises the following key elements: (a) a user interface (19), consisting of a video display (18), microprocessor (16) and controls, (b) an imaging system (86), including a surgical video microscope with zoom capability, (c) an automated 3D target acquisition and tracking system (84, 85, 82) that can follow the movements of the tissue, during the operation, (d) a laser, (e) a diagnostic system, incorporating a mapping and topography means (98) for measuring precise surface shapes prior to and subsequent to a procedure.

Description

AUTOMATED LASER WORKSTATION FOR HIGH PRECISION SURGICAL AND

INDUSTRIAL INTERVENTIONS

S P E C I F I C A T I O N

Reference to Related Applications

This application is a continuation-in-part of copending patent appli¬ cation Serial No. 307,315, filed February 6, 1989, now and copending application Serial No. 475,657, filed February 6, 1990,

Background of the Invention

The invention relates to methods and apparatus for performing pre¬ cise laser interventions, and in particular those interventions relevant to improved methods and apparatus for precision laser surgery. In one pre¬ ferred embodiment, the system of the invention is used for effecting pre- .5 cise laser eye surgery. In other embodiments the invention is applicable to non-surgical diagnostic procedures or non-medical procedures involving precision laser operations, such as industrial processes.

When performing laser interventions, whether in medical surgery, .0 industrial processes, or otherwise, several fundamental considerations ^■r, are common to most applications and will influence the viability and ef- fectiveness of the intervention. To influence the outcome of the interven¬ tion, the present invention addresses both the technical innovations in¬ volved in an apparatus to facilitate precision laser interventions, and the methods by which a user of such apparatus can achieve a precise result.

The present invention addresses the following considerations: (1) how does the user identify a target for the laser intervention, (2) how does the user obtain information as to the location and other pertinent features of the target and its important surroundings, (3) how does the user lock onto that target so that the user has the assurance he is affect¬ ing the intended target, (4) how does the user localize the effect to the target site, (5) how does the user treat a large number of individual tar¬ gets, whether continuously connected, piecewise connected, or discon¬ nected, (6) how does the user assess the effect of the intervention, (7) how does the user correct errors committed either during the course of the intervention or as a result of previous . interventions, (8) how does the user react to changing conditions during the course of the intervention to ensure the desired result, and (9) how is safety ensured consistent with U.S. Food and Drug Agency regulations for medical instruments and good commercial practice guidelines for industrial applications.

Of particular interest are medical interventions such as surgical procedures described by Sklar et. al. (U.S. patent applications Serial Nos. 307,315 and 475,657, which are incorporated herein by reference). Al- though many different kinds of surgery fall within the scope of the pres- ent invention, attention is drawn to corneal refractive surgery in oph¬ thalmology for the treatment of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism.

For corneal refractive surgery, the above nine considerations reduce to the following objectives (in accordance with the present invention described below): (1) identify the location on or in the cornea to be treated, (2) assure that the target is at the desired distance from the apparatus, determine the topography of the cornea, and determine the location of sensitive tissues to be avoided, (3) identify, quantify, and pursue the motion of suitable part of the cornea which can provide a ref¬ erence landmark that will not be altered as a result of the surgical inter¬ vention and, likewise, the depth variations (for example, distance from the corneal surface to the front objective lens changing due to blood pressure pulses) of the corneal surface with respect to the apparatus such that said motions become transparent to the user of the apparatus, (4) provide a laser beam which can be focused onto the precise locations designated by the user such that peripheral damage is limited to within tolerable levels both surrounding the target site and along the laser beam path anterior and posterior to the target site, (5) provide a user interface wherein the user can either draw, adjust, or designate particular template patterns overlaid on a live video image of the cornea and provide the means for converting the template pattern into a sequence of automatic motion instructions which will traverse the laser beam to focus sequen¬ tially on a number of points in three dimensional space which will in turn replicate the designated template pattern into the corresponding surgical intervention, (6) assure that items (1)-(3) above can be performed contin- uously during the course of and subsequent to the surgery to monitor the evolution of the pertinent corneal surface and provide a means of accurate comparison between pre-operative and post-operative conditions, (7) ensure that the structural and physiological damage caused by the surgery to the patient is sufficiently small to permit continued interventions on the same eye, (8) automate the interaction between the various compo¬ nents so that their use is transparent to the user and so that sufficiently fast electronics accelerate completion of the surgical intervention within preselected error tolerances, and (9) provide dependable, fail-safe safety features of sufficiently short reaction times to prevent any chance of injury to sensitve corneal tissues. With these objectives fulfilled, the speed of surgery will no longer be limited by human perception delay and response times but by the capability of the apparatus to recognize chang¬ ing patterns and adjust to the new conditions. Equally important, the accuracy of the surgery will not be constrained by the bounds of human dexterity, but by the mechanical resolution, precision, and response of advanced electro-optical and electromechanical systems.

There are a substantial number of different functions which the apparatus of the present invention addresses. Each of the complementary, and at times competing, functions requires its own technologies and cor¬ responding subassemblies. The present invention describes how these various technologies integrate into a unified workstation to perform spe¬ cific interventions most efficaciousely. For example, for corneal refrac- tive surgery, as per (1) and (2) above, to identify the location to be treated on or in the cornea, the surgeon/user would use a combination of video imaging and automated diagnostic devices as described by Sklar et. al. (U.S. patent applications Serial Nos. 307,315 and 475,657), depth ranging techniques as described by Fountain (U.S. patent application Serial r~ -fi d rvt-rv l ^ , [^θ[<=\ \

No. 655,919), surface topographical techniques, as described by Sklar (U.S. A patent No. 5,054,907) together with signal enhancement techniques for obtaining curvatures and charting the contours of the corneal surface as described by McMillan and Sklar (U.S. patent application Serial No. 656,72-

2), profilimetry methods as disclosed by McMillan et. al. (copending U.S. patent application Serial No. , referred to heretoafter as 266P, and entitled "Illumination of the Cornea for Prof ilometry , " which was filed on the same date and assigned to the same party as the present application), image stabilization techniques as described by Fountain (U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 655,919), which may all be combined using techniques as described by Sklar et. al. (U.S. Patent Appli- cations Serial Nos. 307,315 and 475,657). All of the above listed patent applications and the patent of Fountain (U.S. patent application Serial No.

-fi le-,

), are herein incorporated by reference.

Aspects of the above referenced disclosures are further used to provide means of satisfying the key aspects (3) through (9) noted above, such as verification of target distance from the apparatus, tracking the motion of the cornea in three dimensions, providing a laser whose parame¬ ters can be tuned to selectively generate photodisruption of tissues or photocoagulation as desired, automatically targeting and aiming the laser beam to precise locations, and supplying a surgeon/user with a relatively simple means of using the apparatus through a computer interface. It is well known that visible light, which is passed without signifi¬ cant attenuation through most ophthalmic tissues, can be made to cause a plasma breakdown anywhere within eye tissue whenever the laser pulse can be focused to sufficiently high irradiance and fluence levels to sup¬ port an avalanche process. The ensuing localized photodisruption is ac¬ complished by using a strongly focussed laser beam such that only in the immediate focal zone is the electric field sufficiently strong to cause ionization and nowhere else. By using short pulses of controllably small laser energy, the damage region can be limited in a predictable manner while still guaranteeing the peak power necessary for localized ioniza¬ tion.

Furthermore, with lasers of increasingly higher repetition rate be- coming available, the sometimes intricate patterns desired for a given surgical procedure can be accomplished much faster than the capabilities of a surgeon manually to aim and fire recursively. In prior systems and procedures, the surgeon would aim at a target, verify his alignment, and if. the target had not moved, then fire the laser. He would then move on to the next target, and repeat the process. Thus, the limiting factor to the duration of the operation under these prior procedures was the surgeon's reaction time while he focussed on a target and the patient's movement while the surgeon found his target and reacted to the target recognition by firing the laser. In practice, a surgeon/user can manually observe, identi- fy, move the laser focus to aim, and fire a laser at not more than two shots per second. By contrast, a key object of the instrument and system of the pres¬ ent invention is to stabilize the motion of the patient by use of an auto¬ mated target acquisition and tracking system which allows the surgeon to predetermine his firing pattern based on an image which is automatically stabilized over time. The only limitations in time with the system of the present invention relate to the repetition rate of the laser itself, and the ability of the tracking system to successfully stabilize the image to within the requisite error tolerances for safety and efficacy, while pro- viding a means to automatically interrupt laser firing if the target is not found when a pulse is to be fired. Thus, where it would take several hours for a surgeon/user to execute a given number of shots manually (ignoring fatigue factors), only a few minutes would be required to perform the same procedure when authomatic verification of focal point position and target tracking are provided within the device.

It is an object of the present invention to accommodate the most demanding tolerances in laser surgery, particularly eye surgery but also for other medical specialties, through a method, apparatus and system for high-precision laser surgery which _f-.rovides the surgeon "live" video imag¬ es containing supporting diagnostic information about depth and position at which a surgical laser will be fired. In a computer, the full information content of a given signal is interpreted so as to provide this supporting diagnostic information, and the resulting accuracy achievable is within a few human cells or better. The system, apparatus, and method of the present invention for pre¬ cision laser surgery, particularly ophthalmic surgery, take a fully inte¬ grated approach based on a number of different instrumental functions combined within a single, fully automated unit. For example, previous conventional diagnostic instruments available to the ophthalmic surgeon have included several different apparatus designed to provide the surgeon/ user limited measurement information regarding the cornea of the eye, such as the corneoscope, the keratometer, and the pachymeter. The corne- oscope provides contour levels on the outer surface of the cornea, or cor- neal epithelial surface, derived, typically, from projected concentric illumination rings. The keratometer gives cross sectional curvatures of the epithelial surface layer resulting in an estimation of the diopter- power of the front surface lens of the eye - the corneal epithelium sur¬ face. Only one group of points is examined, giving very limited informa- tion. Pachymeters are used to measure the central axial thicknesses of the cornea and anterior chamber.

The diagnostic functions fulfilled by these devices are instrumental to characterizing the subject tissue in sufficient detail to allow the sur- geon to perform high precision ophthalmic surgery. Unfortunately, these and other similar instruments require considerable time to operate. Fur¬ ther, their use required" near-total immobilization of the eye or, alterna¬ tively, the surgeon/user had to be satisfied with inherent inaccuracies; the immobilization methods thus determined the limitations on the accu- racy and efficacy of eye surgery. Nor did the different apparatus lend themselves to being combined into one smoothly operating instrument. For all of the above reasons, operation at time scales matched to the ac¬ tual motions of the tissues targeted for therapy and/or limited by the fastest human response times to these motions ("real time") has not been possible with any of the conventional instruments used to date.

By contrast, the methods and apparatus disclosed herein, aim to incorporate a mapping and topography means for reconstructing the cor¬ neal surface shape and thickness across the entire cornea. It is further¬ more within the scope of the present invention to provide such global measurements of the corneal refractive power without sacrificing local accuracies and while maintaining sufficient working distance between the eye and the the front optical element of the instrument (objective lens), said measurements to be executed on-line within time scales not limited to human response times. Most standard profilometry techniques were judged inadequate per the above requirements, requiring compromises in either acuuracies of the computed curvatures (such as, e.g., standard 'k' readings of kerato meters), speed and ease of operation (scanning confocai microscopes) or left no working distance for the ophthalmologist (corne- oscopes and keratoscopes based on "placido disk" illumination patterns). It is therefore a key objective of the present invention to include a new topography assembly that can overcc >e the limitations of existing in¬ struments while combining, on-line, and in a cost effective manner, many of the functions of conventional diagnostic instruments presently avail¬ able to the surgeon, as an integral part of a complete surgical laser unit. In one embodiment of the present invention, the corneal refractive power is measured using a unique projection and profilometry technique coupled with signal enhancement methods for surface reconstruction as disclosed by McMillan and Sklar in U.S. patent application Serial No. 656,722 and further extended to larger corneal cross-sections via tech¬ niques described by McMillan et. al. in copending U.S. patent application Serial No. , (per ref. 266P as cited above). In another embodiment, digi¬ tized slit lamp video images are used to measure the local radii of curva¬ ture across the entire corneal surface as well as the thickness of the cornea, with no built-in a-priori assumptions about the corneal shape. Both embodiments of the topography system benefit greatly from the availability of a 3D tracking capability contained within the apparatus. This feature allows elimination of many of the errors and ambiguities that tend to compromise the accuracy of even the best currently available instruments utilizing fine point edge extraction and advanced surface fitting techniques. With the computerized topographic methods of the present invention, surfaces can be reconstructed (and viewed in three dimensions) with accuracies that go well beyond the approximate photo- keratometric and pachometry readings as advocated by L'Esperance (U.S. patent No. 4,669,466), or even the more sophisticated (but complex) cor¬ neal mapping methods as disclosed by Bille (U.S. patent application Serial

No. 494,683) and Baron (U.S. patent No. 4,761 ,071). A

While tissue topography is a necessary diagnostic tool for measuring parameters instrumental to defining templates for the surgery (e.g., re¬ fractive power), such instrumentation is not condusive to use during sur- gery, but rather before and after surgery. Also, the information thus ob- . tained is limited to those parameters characteristic of surface topogra¬ phy (such as radii of curvature of the anterior and/or posterior layers of the cornea or lens). Yet, in many cases, it is desirable to simultaneously image the target area and deposit laser energy at a specific location within the tissue itself. To allow reliable, on-line monitoring of a given surgical procedure, additional mapping and imaging means must therefore be incorporated. The imaging means is intended to record, in three dimen- tions, the location of significant features of the tissue to be operated upon, including features located well within the subject tissue. It is therefore another object of the present invention to provide continuously updated video images to be presented to the surgeon/user as the surgery progresses, said images to be produced in a cost effective manner yet compatible with high resolution and high magnification across a large field of view and at sufficiently low illumination levels to prevent any discomfort to the patient.

The imaging system, or the surgical microscope, requires viewing the reflected light from the cornea, which has two components: (a) specu- lar (or mirror) reflection from a smooth surface, which returns the light at an angle opposite the angle of incidence about the normal from the surface and also preserves the polarization of the incident beam, and (b) diffuse reflection, in which light returned from a rough surface or inho- mogeneous material is scattered in all directions and loses the polariza¬ tion of the incident beam. No surface or material is perfectly smooth or rough; thus all reflected light has a specular and a scattered component. In the case of the cornea there is a strong specular reflection from the front surface/tear layer and weak scattered light from the cellular membranes below. Various standard ^{^}specular microscopes' have been used to sup¬ press the front surface reflection. We have chosen a combination of techniques: some aim at observing the combined reflections without dif¬ ferentiating between specular or diffuse signals (for operations at or in immediate proximity to the surface of the cornea); in others the surface is illuminated with polarized light, with the reflected images then micro¬ scopically viewed through a crossed polarizer for operation within deeper layers, after selectively filtering the more anterior reflections. A rejec¬ tion of the polarized component can thus be achieved, greatly enhancing resolution at low enough light levels to prevent any discomfort to the patient. In either embodiment, the imaging system contained within the apparatus of the invention represents a significant improvement over standard "slit lamp" microscopes such as are in use with most ophthalmic laser systems.

Other efforts at imaging the eye, such as performed with a Heidel¬ berg Instruments Confocai Microscope, or as desribed by Bille (U.S. patent No. 4,579,430), either do not lend themselves to inclusion as part of an on¬ line, cost effective, integrated surgical system (for the former), or rely upon scanning techniques which do not capture an image of the eye at a given instant in time (for the latter). The method of the present invention benefits from having an instantaneous full image rather than a scanned image; for full efficacy, the method does, however, require that the tar¬ geted area be stabilized with respect to both the imaging and the laser focal region, so as to enhance the accuracy of laser deposition in tandem with the viewing sharpness.

Tracking is therefore considered a critical element of a system designed not only to diagnose, but to also select treatment, position the treatment beam and image the tissue simultaneousely with the treatment, while assuring safety at all times. In the case of corneal surgery, move¬ ments of the eye must be followed by a tracking system and, using dedi¬ cated microprocessors, at closed-loop refresh speeds surpassing those achievable by unaided human inspection, by at least an order of magnitude. Tracking by following the subject eye tissue, i.e., recognizing new loca¬ tions of the same tissue and readjusting the imaging system and the sur¬ gical laser aim to the new location, assures that the laser, when firing through a prescribed pattern, will not deviate from the pattern an unac- ceptable distance. In preferred embodiments of the invention, this dis¬ tance is held within 5 microns in all situations during ophthalmic surgery, which sets a margin of error for the procedure. It is possible that with future use and experimentation, it may be found that either more stringent or alternatively more lax displacement error tolerances are desirable to improve overall system performance.

Stabilization of a moving target requires defining the target, char¬ acterizing the motion of the target, and readjusting the aim of the appara¬ tus of the present invention repeatedly in a closed-loop system. To meet accuracy goals also requires that the moving parts within the apparatus not contribute internal vibrations, overshoots, or other sources of posi- tioning error which could cumulate to an error in excess of the prescribed mispositioning tolerances. There have been several previous attempts at achieving this result. Crane and Steele (Applied Optics, 24, p. 527, 1985) and Crane (U.S. patent No. 4,443,075) describe a dual Purkinje projection technique to compare the displacement of two different-order Purkinje projections over time, and a repositioning apparatus to adjust the isomet¬ ric transformation corresponding to the motion. The tracking methods disclosed therein are based on a fundus illumination and monitoring device that aspires to distinguish translational from rotational eye movements, thus stabilizing an illuminating spot on the retina. However, localization of the Purkinje points can be influenced by transient relative motions between the various optical elements of the eye and may provide signifi¬ cantly fictitious position information for identifying the surface of the cornea. Motility studies as described by Katz et al. fAmerican Journal of Ophthalmology, vol. 107, p. 356-360, "Slow Saccaddes in the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome", April 1989) analyze the translations of an image on the retina from which the resulting coordinate transformation can be computed and galvanometric driven mirrors can be repositioned. In addition to the fictitious information discussed above due to relative motions between different layers of the eye, the galvanometer drives described by Katz usually are associated with considerable overshoot problems. Since saccaddes can be described as highly accelerated motions with constantly changing directions, overshoot errors can easily lead to unacceptable errors. Bille et. al. (U.S. Patent 4,848,340) describes a method of following a mark on the epithelial surface of the cornea, supposedly in proximity of the targeted surface material. However, in one of the uses of the present invention, a mark made on the epithelial surface would change its absolute

5 location due to changes in the structure and shape of the material, caused by use of the instrument itself rather than by eye motions. Therefore, a target tracking and laser positioning mechanism that relies on a mark on the surface of the cornea in order to perform corneal surgery such as described by Bille's tracking method would be expected to lead to misdi-

0 rected positioning of laser lesions below the surface when combined with any suitable focussed laser, as intended in one of the uses of the present invention. Moreover, one of the features of the present invention is to be able to perform surgery inside the cornea without having to incise the cornea. The main advantages of such a procedure are in avoiding exposure

5 of the eye to infection and in minimizing patient discomfort. It would hence be counterproductive to mark the surface of the cornea for the pur¬ pose of following the motion of said mark. In another embodiment taught by Bille et. al., the tracking is based on a reference provided by either on the eye's symmetry axis, or the eye's visual axis, with an empirically .0 determined offset between the two. Tracking is then accomplished by monitoring the reflection from the apex of the cornea, thus avoiding the need to mark the eye, and/or rely solely on patient fixation. However, with this technique, as in the preferred embodiment taught by Bille et. al., the tracking does not follow tissue features generally at the same location as '^~ .5 the targeted surgical site on or inside the eye. Instead, Bille et. al.'s techniques track reference points that are, in all cases, separate, remote from and may be unrelated to the targeted surgical site. Such methods compromise accuracy of tracking in direct proportion to the degree of their remoteness relative to the surgical site. Therefore, they do not ade¬ quately provide for the fact that the eye is a living tissue, moving and changing shape to some extent constantly. Tracking a single point on the cornea, when the cornea itself actually shifts considerably on the eye, thus cannot be expected to reflect positional change of the targeted surgi¬ cal site.

By contrast, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention the tracking information is obtained through means contiguous to the target region, which is mechanically and structurally considered as part of the cornea, but is unlikely to be affected by the course of the surgery and can thus provide a significant representation of non-surgically in- duced displacements. This is a critical feature of the tracking method disclosed herein, in that involuntary ^notions of the eye (such as are caused by blood vessel pulsing) can now be accurately accomodated, unlike techniques that rely on remote reference points .

The accuracy of the apparatus and system of the invention prefera¬ bly is within 5 microns, as determined by a closed-loop system which incorporates actual measurement of the target position within the loop. (For example, a microstepper motor based assembly may have a single step resolution of 0.1 micron verified against a motor encoder, but ther- mal gradients in the slides may yield greater variations. Moreover, posi¬ tion of the slide can be verified via an independent optical encoder, but the random vibrations of the target can invalidate the relative accuracy of the motor.) Thus, the surgeon has knowledge of the shape of tissues within the field of view and the precise location of where he is aiming the instrument within those structures, to an accuracy of 5 microns. Such precision was not attainable in a systematic, predictable manner with any of the prior instruments or practices used. The present invention thus seeks to obviate the need for binocular vision used to obtain stereoptic images in some prior methods (see, e.g., Crane, U.S. Patent 4,443,075). .

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the instrument also ensures that a laser pulse is fired only upon command of the computerized controller and after the system has verified that the tracking assembly is still locked onto the desired location, that the energy being emitted by the laser falls within prescribed error tolerances, and that the aiming and focussing mechanisms have reached their requested settings. There is no need for a separate aiming beam. In one embodiment of the present sys¬ tem, the method of parallax ranging is implemented to map out surfaces posterior to the cornea, but preceding actual treatment.

Safety is a very important consideration with laser surgery. In prior surgical systems and procedures, some safety shut off procedures for laser firing have depended upon human reaction time, such as the use of a surgeon's foot pedal for disabling the instrument when a situation arises which would make firing unsafe. In ophthalmology, some instruments have relied as a safety feature on a pressure sensor located where the patient's forehead normally rests during surgery. If insufficient pressure were detected by the sensor, the instrument would be disabled from firing.

Such prior safety systems have inherently had slow reaction times, and have not been able to react quickly enough to all of the various prob¬ lems which can arise during a firing sequence. This is a critical concern in ophthalmic surgery, especially where specific surgical procedures are to be performed near sensitive non-regenerative tissues such as the cor¬ neal endothelium layer and the optic nerve. In contrast, the target capture and tracking system of the present invention makes available a new and highly dependable safety system. If for any reason, either prior to or dur¬ ing a given surgical procedure, the tracking system loses its target, the laser is disabled from firing. Various options are available for blocking emission from the apparatus once the tracking assembly has verified the loss of a tracking signal.

No previous surgical laser system has employed the efficacious combination of features as disclosed herein. For example, in previous art, Bille et. al. (U.S. Patent No. 4,848,340) and Crane (U.S. Patent No. 4,4- 43,075) taught tracking techniques to follow tissue movements which might occur during surgery, but did not teach simultaneous 3D imaging within the tissue to monitor the effects of surgery on the tissue and pro¬ vide requiste safety margins; L'Esperance (U.S. Patent Nos. 4,669,466 and 4,665,913) also did not suggest any aspects of 3D imaging, teaching only laser surgery on the anterior surface of the cornea; Bille (U.S. Patent No. 4,579,430) shows a retina scanner but does not teach simultaneous tracking. Bille et. al. (U.S. Patent No. 4,881 ,808) teach an imaging system and incorporate a tracker and a beam guidance system by reference (per U.S. patents Nos. 4,848,340 and 4,901 ,718, respectively) but fail to ad¬ dress the very difficult challenges involved in achieving a smooth combi- nation of all these aspects into a single surgical laser unit with built-in high reliability features. By contrast, it is the unique integration of sev¬ eral such diverse aspects (including mapping, imaging, tracking, precision laser cutting and user interface), precisely yet inexpensively, into a fully automated workstation, the uses of which are transparent to the user, that is the main subject of the present invention. The methods and appara¬ tus disclosed herein are thus expected to enhance the capabilities of a surgeon/user in accomplishing increasingly more precise surgical inter¬ ventions in a faster and more predictable manner. Enhanced safety is ex¬ pected to be a natural outcome of the methods and apparatus taught herein in that the surgery will be performed without many of the risks associat¬ ed with competing methods and apparatus such as described by L'Esperance (U.S. Patent Nos. 4,669,466 and 4,665,913), Srinivasian (U.S. Patent No. 4,784,135), Bille et. al. (U.S. Patent No. 4,848,340, 4,881 ,808 and 4,907,586), Frankhauser (U.S. Patent No. 4,391 ,275), Aron-Rosa (U.S. Patent No. 4,309,998), Crane (U.S. Patent 4,443,075) or others.

Summary of the Invention

An embodiment of the present invention is herein disclosed, com¬ prising a method, apparatus, and system for precision laser based micro- surgery or other laser based micromachining, and including the following elements, each of which is described below.

(1) A final objective (lens), the axial position of which relative to the tear layer of the corneal vertex (or to a more general target), is held constant by an axial tracking means, and through which pass all optical radiations emitted or accepted by the system. (2) An axial tracking means (including associated optics) for maintaining constant separation between the final objective and its target (which is to be distinguished from the (common) target for the treatment means and the parallax ranging means, and also from the target for the viewing means) as that target moves axially along the final objective's centerline. The axial tracking means includes a compensation means to preclude it from being adversely af¬ fected by the transverse tracking means. (3) A transverse tracking means (including optics) for maintaining constant aiming between the treatment and parallax ranging means and their (common) target, and between the viewing means and its target, as those targets move (together) trans¬ versely to the final objective's centerline. (4) A treatment means for effecting the actual laser microsurgery/micromachining, including a la¬ ser, laser-beam directing optics, a treatment aiming means (with optics), and a treatment focussing means (also including optics), all of which are actuated by a computerized control means. (5) A parallax ranging means, which shares optics for the treatment aiming and focussing means, for positioning the common focus of the treatment and parallax ranging means at a desired location (independent of the targets identified above) by use of the viewing means and without requiring the actual operation to be

5 performed. (6) A viewing means, comprising optics and a low-light-level TV camera, for presenting to the surgeon/user, on the display means, an adjustably magnified image of the volume adjacent to the viewing target, which target may be chosen by the user independently of the other targets identified above. (7) A computerized control means, including a user inter-

0 face presented on the display means, which performs calculations and accepts and issues signals in order to execute the various functions of the overall system. (8) A display means for presenting to the surgeon/user the image from the viewing means plus computer-generated overlays from the user interface; such overlays include not only menus but also textual and

5 graphic representations of aspects such as the topography of the cornea (or more general surfaces associated with the various targets) and the microsurgery/micromachining template to be used. (9) A profiling means, including optics, one or more (patterned) profilometry illuminators, and a TV camera, to generate the data from which the computerized control

!0 means can calculate the topograhy of the cornea (or, in other embodi¬ ments, a more general surface). (10) An output measurement means to measure parameters of the laser radiation delivered to the eye of the patient or the workpiece. (11 ) Various illumination means, such as the profilometry illuminators, the coaxial illuminator, and the slit illumina-

! 5 tor, to provide the light source(s) for the profilometry means, the trans¬ verse tracking means and the viewing means. The present invention is expected to be useful in a variety of medi¬ cal specialties, especially wherever the positioning accuracy of laser lesions is critical and where accurate containment of the spatial extent of a laser lesion is desirable. Much of the following discussion will be directed at ophthalmic applications and specifically corneal refractive surgery. This should not be viewed as a limitation on the applicability of the apparatus and method of the present invention. Alternate embodi¬ ments of the invention are expected to play a role in several other medical applications.

The system is also useful for non-medical operations, such as indus¬ trial operations, especially micromachining and short repair of microchi¬ ps, wherein a focused laser beam is used to perform high precision opera- tions on an object subject to movement, or in the automated inspection and correction of errors in the manufacture of microprocessors and high density integrated circuits.

In a specific application to corneal procedures, the present invention is intended to provide a means by which an ophthalmologist can (a) ob¬ serve the patient's eye at both low magnification to orient the procedure and at progressively higher magnification to provide greater resolution for finer and more accurate procedures, (b) access on-line diagnostic information as to the shape of one or more relevant surfaces or of tissue layers to be treated, (c) describe a pattern of shots to effect a particular lesion shape without requiring manual aiming of each shot by the surgeon, (d) provide a therapeutic laser beam propagating through a beam steering and focussing delivery system which can localize the laser lesions at a particular depth in the immediate neighborhood of the laser focal point without appreciable damage elsewhere and with minimal peripheral ne- crosis or thermal damage surrounding the affected volume, and (e) provide a target tracking system that can minimize the error in positioning the pattern of the laser lesion in a moving target.

In the user interface, a video monitor screen is provided in front of the surgeon, and the screen provides a variety of choices for imaging and diagnostic information. Among the selections available to the ophthalmol¬ ogist, for example, is a live video image of the eye superimposed over sectional perspectives of the shape of the corneal anterior surface and displayed along with the location where the proposed surgical lesion is situated. Another choice is to display a wire-mesh contour elevation map of said corneal surface together with an imbedded display of the proposed lesion. These selections can all be enlarged by using the zoom option which auguments the live video image, and proportionally also the wire- mesh surface contours, the perspective views of the surface, and all other relevant diagnostics.

Additionally, a library of patterns is available so that the computer can generate templates based on the optical correction prescribed (gener¬ ated off-line by the physician's "refraction" of the patient) and the mea- sured topography (which templates will automatically correct for edge effects, based on built-in expert-system computational capability). The surgeon/user can move the templates on the screen by means of a trackball, mouse, or other standard pointing device for manipulating points on a video screen and thus define the shape of the desired lesion and situate it at the optimal treatment location. These templates serve the additional function, once finally approved by the surgeon/user, of automatically controlling the path of the firing of the laser as well as the size and location of the laser-generated lesions to be formed in the course of the microsurgery. Since particular templates can be stored in computer memory, the surgeon may, as experience with the apparatus develops, draw on a bank of prior knowledge relating to a particular form of micro¬ surgery, such as ophthalmic surgery directed to a specific type of correc¬ tion. A physician may therefore choose to select from a set of pre¬ existing templates containing his preferred prescriptions, lay the tem¬ plate, in effect, on the computer-generated image of the region, and re- size and/or re-scale the template to match the particular patient/eye characteristics. The surgery can then be executed automatically in a pre¬ cisely controlled manner, based on the computer programming sense.

Such a pre-existing library of templates is also useful in the execu- tion of controlled animal studies. It should be , noted, however, that with¬ out the accompanying three-dimensional targeting capability and the au¬ tomatic image stabilization means contained within the hardware of the present invention, the utility of template-generated surgery alone would be severely limited either to non-sensitive tissues (where high three dimensional precision is not usually a consideration) or to relatively sta- tionary or immobilized targets (not usually available at high magnifica¬ tion in a biological system which is "alive").

In other embodiments of the methods and hardware of the present invention, templates can also be generated and stored in similar manner for procedures other than comealrefractive surgery, including iridotomy, posterior capsulotomy, trabeculoplasty, keratotomy, and others.

Among the advantages of the present invention is the modular design of the multiple assemblies. The multiple assemblies are each individually supported on kinematic mounts. These mounts allow for the separate construction of the multiple assemblies, their alignment to tooling jigs individually, and the precise "hard-aligning" of the multiple assemblies into a complex optical system. Although such kinematic mounts can add, somewhat, to manufacturing cost, they save considerable alignment time during the assembly of the apparatus and provide a greater measure of reliability that the apparatus shall remain in operational alignment during continued use by non-technical surgeon/users.

Using the instrument of the present invention, the surgeon can gen¬ erate a proposed pattern of therapeutic treatment, can compare the pat¬ tern to the actual tissues targeted, can compare his proposed surgery with what other surgeons have done in similar situations, and can still have the assurance that when he is finally satisfied with the proposed proce- dure, he can push a button to cause the desired surgery to be carried out at a high rate of independently targeted shots per second. This speed mini¬ mizes the risk during surgery of catastrophic patient motion.

in addition, the surgeon has at his disposal a fast reliable safety means, whereby the laser firing is interrupted automatically, should any conditions arise to warrant such interruption of the procedure. The sur¬ geon can also temporarily disable the laser from firing at any point during the course of the surgery via suitable manual controls.

The tracking subsystem of the invention serves two important pur¬ poses: it tracks and follows the movements of the patient's tissue - not only the voluntary movements which can be damped with specialized treatment, but also the involuntary movements which are more difficult to control on a living specimen -- and continuously re-presents an image of the same section of tissue. Thus the surgeon/user is provided a contin¬ uous, substantially immobilized view of that tissue regardless of patient movements; and it further provides a fail-safe means for immediately stopping the action of the surgical laser beam in the event the tracking is lost, i.e., the tissue is not recognized by the tracking algorithm following the motion, per the discussion on safety features above.

In accordance with the invention, fast imaging and tracking are achieved using the combined effects of a pivoting tracking mirror which may be under the directional control of a piezoelectric or electromagnetic transducer, or other rapid servo device to pursue eye motions in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis of the final focusing lens (also referred to herein as the X-Y plane), coupled with a motor drive which translates the otherwise fixed final focussing lens assembly along the axial direc¬ tion of the final focussing lens, herein denoted as the Z axis. Thus, three dimensional motions which fall within the domain of capture of the tracking system can be observed, pursued and captured.

Fast response times are possible with the described embodiment of the invention, limited by the ultimate speed of the tracking detector, the computational capabilities of the apparatus microprocessors and data transfer rates, and the moment of inertia of the tracking servo mirror. It has been determined that such closed loop target recognition and tracking should occur at least at a rate of approximately 20-to-40 Hz in order to compensate for involuntary eye motion and thus provide a significant improvement over human reaction times. Tracking rates on the order of 100 Hz for full amplitudes on the order of >1 mm (about 5°) in the trans¬ verse direction and in excess of 40Hz over a range of +2mm axially, would ultimately be achievable with some improvements based on the methods and system of the present system.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the tracking sensors, or detectors, in combination with their circuitry, should be capa¬ ble of high spatial resolution. Examples are linear position sensing detec¬ tors and quadrant detectors. For corneal refractive surgery, the limbus of the eye provides a landmark ideally suited for such detectors. In the reti- na, landmarks such as the optic disk, or vessel configurations can similar¬ ly provide landmarks upon which a magnified view can serve as the track- ing landmark. In the present invention, any natural eye feature located in proximity of and structurally contiguous to the target site will serve as the tracking landmark. The important observation is that the location of the tracking landmark must respond to forces and pressures in a manner similar to the targeted tissues, yet it cannot be coincident with the pre¬ cise target site itself, since this site will change during the course of the surgery.

Since the limbus is the outer edge of the cornea, it is expected that the limbus will respond to changes in position in a similar manner to other corneal tissues. The limbus further has the advantage of being con¬ tiguous to the sclera. Correspondingly, it is expected that the transient displacements occasioned by the impact of the laser pulse on the target site will be damped sufficiently at the limbus so as to not induce ficti- tious tracking signals. Such fictitious tracking signals would normally be a frequent observation if the present invention were to use, for example, a mark on the surface of the cornea in the vicinity of the operative site or a remote symmetry axis. Similar considerations apply when selecting a tracking landmark in other eye segments.

Λ

By incorporating intensified cameras, the present instrument and system is of high sensitivity, requiring only low levels of illumination, and produces video images of high contrast and high resolution. Illumina¬ tion levels are kept well within established safety levels for the human eye. With the optics of the present system the patient's tissue is ob¬ served from an appreciable distance, sufficient for comfort to the patient even during eye surgery, and sufficient to permit the surgeon/user ready access to the patient in case of emergency, to insure safety at all times, to reassure the patient, or for any other reason which the surgeon/user may feel justifiable.

Zoom optics are included so that the physician can select a range of magnification for the video image, which may be from about, say, 15X to 200X. Different zooming ranges may be appropriate for different types of surgical procedures while maintaining an overall zooming capability of approximately 15-fold. The viewing system may be refocused in depth as well as transversely, independent of the treatment beam, as desired.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a system for use in ophthalmic laser surgery includes a laser source with sufficient output power to effect a desired type of surgery in the ocular tissues, along with an optical path means for delivering the laser beam, including beam di¬ recting and focussing means for controlling the aim and depth of focus of the laser beam. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a laser firing up to 250 shots per second is employed. Such a laser device can generate an intricate pattern consisting of 50,000 shots aimed sepa¬ rately at different locations in under 4 minutes. For most types of oph¬ thalmic surgery procedures falling in the domain of application for the system disclosed herein, the method of deposition of the laser pulse ener¬ gy onto the target site calls for achieving irradiances at the target site above the threshold for ionization of molecules within the target site and giving rise to an avalanche process culminating in plasma formation. Since the maximal diameter of the lesion will consequently not be deter¬ mined by the theoretical spot size of the laser beam but by the maximal outward expansion of the cavitation induced during plasma collapse, and since the maximal lesion capacity of the plasma is related to the amount of energy transfered into the plasma volume (and subsequently into a shock wave) by the laser pulse, considerable attention is needed to main¬ tain the laser pulse energy within narrow variation tolerances. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention this is achieved by a closed feedback loop, wherein each laser pulse emitted by the system is sampled to determine the actual energy being emitted. Any trends in emission energy can thus be identified allowing subsequent emitted pulse energies to be adjusted accordingly.

U.S. Food and Drug Agency regulations for medical laser devices currently require manufacturers of said devices to provide a means for measuring the output delivered to the human body to within an accuracy of plus or minus 20%. There is no specification on emission tolerances for the lasers beyond the constraints of safety and efficacy. However, verifi¬ cation of average pulse emission does not preclude 50% variations be- tween consecutive pulses in a firing sequence. Such variation range is one of the reasons why "missfires" occur in many ophthalmic devices. It is not that the laser failed to fire, but that insufficient energy was emitted to achieve the desired or expected result becuase of unforeseen and unde¬ tected energy variations. For an automated system such as the present invention, the emission from the laser needs to be monitored and adjusted to achieve far narrower pulse-to-pulse error tolerances. In summary, it is among the objects of the present invention to greatly improve the accuracy, speed, range, reliability, versatility, safety, and efficacy of laser surgery, particularly ophthalmic surgery, by a sys- tern and instrument which continuously presents information to the sur¬ geon/user during surgery as to the precise location, aim, and depth of the surgical laser and also as to surrounding features of the subject tissue, in three dimensions. It is also an object of the invention to track movements of the subject tissue during surgery, particularly critical in eye surgery where eye movements can be very rapid and involuntary. It is further an object of the invention to provide a safe means of first establishing a reproducible firing sequence positioned in a three dimensional space, and then firing the sequence at high repetition rates, thus obviating the time- consuming need to repetitively inspect, aim, and fire each shot before proceeding to the next target. Still another object is to provide a system applicable to non-medical fields wherein a laser beam is used to effect a precise operation on a target or series of targets subject to movement during the procedure. These and other objects, advantages, and features of the invention will be apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments, considered along with the accompanying drawings.

Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a block diagram of an instrument or workstation for performing precision laser surgery in accordance with the principles of the invention. In Figure 1 the workstation is configured for ophthalmic surgery.

Figure 2 is a block diagram of the instrument or workstation indi- eating the path of the laser energy pulse as it propagates through the system along with the functions of control and information flow among various optical components, detectors, and controllers for monitoring the energy of the laser pulse and maintaining the emission within prescribed narrow error tolerances.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the path for light traveling from and back to the depth ranging or Z-plane tracking means, together with the loop for information flow to the computer coontrol means and back to the position means.

Figure 4 is the block diagram showing the light path from the paral¬ lax ranging assembly to the eye and the control path from the imaging video camera to the video monitor display means. The light path from the eye back to the imaging camera is also indicated in this Figure.

Figure 5 is a block diagram of the workstation in which the light paths and control loops for the X-Y place tracking means are shown.

Figure 5A shows the image of the iris incident on the two quadrant detectors used in a preferred embodiment of the sensor for X-Y tracking. Figure 6 is a block diagram indicating the interplay of the imaging means with the video monitor display.

Figure 7 is another block diagram indicating the light path between the topography assembly and the eye together with the control loop and interface with the video monitor display. The displays generated by the topography loop depicted in this Figure are overiayed over the live image shown in Figure 7 by the computer control assembly.

Figure 8 is a scale drawing of one embodiment of the instrument of present invention.

Figur? ;a through 9c represent three perspectives of an artistic rendition of ΛT ergonomic configuration of the workstation. The system was designed to accomodate the engineering subassemblies in a maximally compact manner while providing a large amount of clear space for the patient.

Figure 10 is a detailed block diagram illustrating the functional interdependence among the various optical subsystems.

Figure 11 is a block diagram showing the sequence of control and information flow from the user interface elements to the firing of the laser. Figure 12 is a photograph of a user interface screen showing a se¬ lection of computer generated patterns which can further be modified using "CAD/CAM-like" editing functions, such as are contained in a "utili¬ ties" module.

Figure 13 is an illustration of a user interface screen showing a window of a sample "treatment" menu used to select treatment eye seg¬ ments, set lesion shapes, choose operating parameters corresponding to the template designated procedure and other functions.

Figure 14 is a photograph showing the same sample template as Figure 12, and highlighting an example of a pull-down "set parameters" menu.

Figure 15 is a topographical representation of a three dimensional eye surface as seen from the user/interface screen, highlighting a sample "diagnostics" module.

Description of Preferred Embodiments

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows a block diagram for the fundamental assemblies of a complete precision laser surgery and/or diagnostic/ana¬ lytical instrument 10 in accordance with the principles of the present invention, in the form of a workstation. Not shown are the support station housing the video monitor means, the power supplies, the fire- control/safety switch and other accessories for the workstation. Although the system, apparatus and method of the invention are illustrated and discussed with reference to ophthalmic surgery and diag¬ nosis, it should be understood that the invention encompasses other types of medical diagnostic and surgical procedures, as well as non-medical operations (e.g. semiconductor processing, such as precision wafer fabri¬ cation, short repair using lasers and other micromachining techniques).

The instrument and system 10 of the invention include controls 16 for a vision system and laser firing, enabling the surgeon/user to survey the topography and internal features of the tissue to be operated upon (the eye in the illustrated workstation) via a video means 19, and, via the computerized control means, to precisely control the timing as well as the direction, depth and spatial pattern of firing of a laser beam in three dimensions. As will be explained below, the surgeon may control the fir¬ ing of the laser with "templates" which can be superimposed over an im¬ age of the tissue being operated upon, and which enable an automatic tracing of a desired laser firing pattern based upon prior experience or a surgeon's insights with similar surgical procedures. The templates may be pre-programmed or generated anew for each patient, as the case requires.

The system also includes a final objective lens or focussing lens or front lens 17 (an element of the microscope assembly, as explained be¬ low), through which images are taken and through which the laser beam is directed at the subject tissue. In a preferred embodiment of the system, an axial illuminating light beam may be projected at the tissue through the topography assembly 98 and the final objective lens 17. In other em¬ bodiments of the present invention, an off-axis slit illuminator, providing a ribbon-shaped illuminating light beam, may be used to augument and/or replace the axial illumination technique, (see Howland et al., Noninvasive Assessment of the Visual System Topical Meeting, Santa Fe, Feb 4-7, 1991) depending on the particular kind of surgical procedure and error tolerances required thereof. The instrument 10 may contain, in addition, the therapeutic laser, 87, the surgical microscope, 86, an X-Y tracking assembly, 85, a depth ranging microscope, 84, a parallax depth ranging assembly, 82, various illuminators, and the beam steering and focussing assembly, 81. All of these assemblies share an optical path defined by the final tracking mirror 72 and the lens 17.

The tracking mirror 72 represents a key element in the system, in that it is in the path of light (whether transmitted or reflected), generat¬ ed and/or acquired by all the various subassemblies of the workstation, excepting only the slit illuminator (of the alternate embodiment, not shown in Figure 1). In alternate embodiments of the invention, the track¬ ing mirror may be driven either piezoelectrically or electromagnetically. A piezoelectric driver uses the change in shape of a quartz crystal in response to a electric current to move the mirror. An electromagnetic driver uses a coif of wire in a magnetic field which is made to move by passing an electric current through the coil. The electromagnetic driver is similar in function to a voice coil of an audio speaker. In either embodi- ment the speed (or, more accurately, the acceleration) of the entire tracking system is limited by the response of the drivers and the mirror's moment of inertia.

Most of the major components and subassemblies, shown in the block diagram of Figure 1 , are disclosed separately and have been incorporated herein by reference. However, the combination of these separate inven¬ tions into system 10, the methods by which they can be made to work in concert as an integrated unit, and the enhanced capabilities this entails in a surgical environment are the subject of the present invention.

For example, the topography technique requires establishing precise¬ ly the distance from the surface to be measured to the appropriate princi¬ pal plane of the front focussing lens. Whereas there are several methods for establishing said distance, the modified confocai technique described by Fountain (copending U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 655,919) repre¬ sents a preferred embodiment of such a measuring technique, incorporated by reference into the present invention. Since in surgery the targets are live tissue and are continuously in motion, to achieve high levels of accu- . racy requires that the surface to be measured by way of the topography assembly also remain stable with respect to the measuring sensors locat¬ ed within the topography assembly 98, the zoom video assembly 86, and the known focal point of the laser 87. This is achieved by continuously adjusting the position of the final focussing lens 17 along the axial direc¬ tion as further described by Fountain (per above). Figure 2 shows the light path 71 as it emerges from the laser 87, passes through the external energy regulator 83, is expanded and directed in the beam steering and focussing assembly 81 as further described by Fountain et. al. in copending U.S. patent application Serial No. 25^"5,&>D4 and is aimed via the tracking mirror 72 and through the front focussing lens 17 onto the prescribed target site. In a preferred embodiment of the in¬ vention, the tracking mirror 72 will have an optical coating which will permit a small portion of the laser energy to continue through the tracking mirror along the path 73 to be detected in the energy monitoring assembly 80, as depicted in Figure 2.

The pulse energy sensed in the energy monitoring assembly 80 is electronically relayed to the computer control assembly 16 which in turn analyzes the output energy from the laser 87 and adjusts the proportion of the laser energy of subsequent laser pulses to pass through the energy regulator 83. In an embodiment of the present invention, the energy regu¬ lator 83 is a polarizer adjusted to be "crossed" with the polarized laser pulse, preceded by a rotatable half-wave retardation plate. The energy monitor 80, consists of an integrating sphere and detector which can record energy on a pulse-by-pulse basis. The energy detector calculates weighted exponential moving averages, modified with a weighting factor, as well as the rate of change of the running average. The accuracy of measurement of the pulse energy is within 5%, based on calibration against standard energy meters (e.g., Molectron, Scientech). In a preferred embodiment of the system 10, the steering, focussing and aiming subassembly 81 may consist of a beam expander 22 that pro¬ vides depth of focus variations through change of collimation, and a dual set of Risley prisms (also known as Herschel prisms) 21 to steer and aim the beam, as described in detail in U.S. patent application Serial No. tV>-⁽~o The beam expander may comprise a set of lenses 23, a stepper motor 41 and a slide 43, with 75 mm traverse corresponding to ~ 25 mm in the eye. Beam focus accuracy to within 10 urn can be provided in this manner, based on standard optical components. The Risley prisms are selected as preferred means of beam steering and directing because of lower moment of inertia and shorter lever arm as compared to alternatives, such as gimballed mirrors. The lower moment of inertia inherently allows faster aiming (which is enhanced by the use of cylindrical coordinates, these being more natural for the eye than Cartesian coordinates), while the shorter lever arm permits aiming further off-axis without beam-clipping (vignetting) at the aperture of the objective lens 17.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the surgical laser 87 emits radiation in the visible wavelength range to take advantage of the transmission properties of visible light in the optically clear tissues of the human eye. One preferred embodiment of the invention uses a frequen¬ cy doubled Nd:YAG laser, producing sufficiently short duration pulses ( shorter than a few hundred nanoseconds, and preferrably shorter than 10 nanoseconds) to limit the amount of energy required to ionize material as discussed further below. In alternative embodiments, the laser 87 may be one of several types of flashlamp- or diode-pumped solid state lasers (such as, Nd:YAG, Nd.YLF, Ho.YLF, Er:YAG, alexandrite, Ti:sapphire or others) operating in the fundamental or a frequency-multiplied mode, a semiconductor laser, or an argon, excimer, nitrogen, dye, or any of a host of different lasers, or combinations thereof, currently available or in development. The present invention can be used with any of a wide variety of lasers by specifying different coatings where necessary for the optical surfaces. A quartz and magnesium fluoride focusing element is available as the element 17 to accommodate ultraviolet lasers whether they be excimer lasers or fre¬ quency shifted solid state lasers. One of the features of the present inven¬ tion is that it is not laser specific, but represents a surgical instrument intended to enhance the efficacy of any therapeutic laser. The laser 87 preferably produces a pulsed beam which is controllable as to the level of energy per pulse, pulse peak power, and repetition rate. For ophthalmic applications which do not seek to generate laser lesions below the front surface of the cornea, or wherever incising the eye is an acceptable option as a preliminary or as part of the procedure, then excimer lasers, holmium lasers, carbon dioxide lasers or some other ultraviolet or infrared laser may an acceptable modality. In one embodiment of the present invention, the surgeon is not restricted to surface effects or to incising the eye. With the same visible wavelength laser (for example, a frequency doubled Nd.YAG), the surgeon can select any tissue depth (whether on the corneal surface or below, whether on the posterior lens capsule or in the lens nucleus) at which to generate an effect without the necessity of exchanging laser modalities for different eye segments, provided there remains an optically clear path to the targeted layer in the corresponding visible range.

In the event a non-visible-wavelength laser beam is used (e.g. strictly for ablating the front surface of the cornea, or strictly for coagu¬ lating blood vessels in the retina, or strictly for photodisrupting mem¬ branes on the posterior capsule) some variations in the optical configura¬ tion of the system 10 will likely be required.

Figure 3 shows the information path for the depth ranger assembly

84 that measures the distance from the front focussing lens 17 to the surface of the eye 69 and continuously adjusts the position of the front focussing lens 17 along a path 88. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the path length 88 over which the front focussing lens is adjusted is 5 mm. The system comprising subassembly 84 together with lens 17 and the intervening optics, is sometimes referred to herein as the confocai microscope. It uses optical elements in common with the other equipment in the system 10, namely the tracking servo mirror 72 and the beam splitters 65 and 66. The focusing lens 17 is adjusted as to focus, along a Z axis, in response to shifts in the depth of the subject tissue feature, so that the system always returns to a focus on the corneal ver¬ tex 56 (the part of the cornea that is closest to the objective lens).

Included in the depth ranger assembly 84 are depth tracking or "Z- axis" tracking sensors 50 which detect, a change in location of the surface 69 as described by Fountain in a copending U.S. patent application (Serial No. 655,919, incorporated by reference herein) and relay the information to the computer control assembly 16 which computes a new desired posi¬ tion for the front objective lens assembly 17 and issues instruction to a motor drive to relocate said lens assembly 17 to the desired new position. A closed loop is thus described which incorporates the live movements of the eye surface within the decision process of adjusting the focal point of lens assembly 17, to within given tolerances. In this embodiment, the capture range for axial acquisition is within +/- 0.2 mm and tracking rates in excess of 40 Hz are within the servo loop capability for maximum ranges on the order of 2 mm.

Since mirrors and beamsplitters 64, 68, and 72, together with beam splitting cubes 65, 66, and 67, link the other assemblies of the system 10 into a common axial path passing through lens focussing assembly 17, they can all be referenced to the lens assembly 17 as if the distance be¬ tween lens 17 and eye surface 69 were to remain constant. This is a major simplification in the manner in which eye surgery can be performed in that the surgeon need no longer be continuously monitoring eye movement to verify a constantly changing focal position within the patient's eye.

For procedures where the targeted tissue layers lie posterior to the cornea, the surgeon/user will have the use of the parallax depth ranging instrument 88 as shown in Figure 4. This assembly relies on the intersec¬ tion of two beams of light (from, e.g., a He-Ne illuminator laser) converg- ing to a common point on a given surface. In one embodiment, the parallax ranger allows mapping of a mesh of points, acquired through judicious adjustment of the zoom camera to short depth-of-focus (maximum magni¬ fication), which, along with corresponding variation of the focus on the parallax ranger, produces a series of diffraction limited spots on the structures behind the cornea (iris, lens, etc.). In this manner, the resulting surface will define a desired template.

The inclusion of a parallax ranger within the instrument 10 over¬ comes difficulties commonly associated with specular reflection tech¬ niques used for detection of the location and measurement of ocular fea- tures. Basically, only the tear surface layer overlying the corneal surface epithelium is usually detectable and measurable by specular light reflec¬ tion techniques. The reflected light signal is generally insufficient for the extraction of topographic information of the endothelium surface of the cornea (<0.02% reflection versus 4% from the epithelium), let alone for characterization of the three dimensional shape of the anterior and poste¬ rior capsules of the crystalline lens of the human eye. The parallax ranger unit provides the surgeon/user with the option of using a combination of standard techniques which rely on images of a target site. Thus, the sur¬ geon/user can identify, to within the inherent error tolerances of the technique, when the instrument is focussed on a given surface. The precise focal point of the beam can then be varied by altering the incoming beam divergence by way of defocussing a beam expander means 22 (included within assembly 81 ). By redefining the origin of a given procedure to coin¬ cide with the depth at which the parallax ranger is focussed on a surface, this new identified surface becomes the reference surface for performing a surgical procedure. Via the user interface (See Sklar et. al., U.S. patent applications Serial Nos. 307,815 and 475,657, incorporated by reference herein), the surgeon/user can then define lesion templates or configura¬ tions to be performed at a given depth with respect to the new identified surface.

Similarly, the motion of the eye along a plane perpendicular to the Z- axϊs of the front focussing lens assembly 17 also needs to be stabilized. This is achieved using the X-Y tracking path shown in Figure 5. Intrinsic to any tracking scheme is the choice of what is to be tracked. If the eye were a non-deformable body, then any landmark on or in the eye would suffice for defining the motion of said material. However, the eye neither moves nor deforms as a rigid body. Consequently, in order to define the location of a moving tissue layer within the eye, the tracking landmark must be located contiguous to the targeted tissue and should mechanically respond in a manner similar to the targeted tissue.

For corneal refractive surgery, the eye limbus at the radially out¬ ward edge of the cornea satisfies these constraints. It has the advantage of not only moving with the cornea — inasmuch as it is a part of the cor- nea -- but, since it likewise is connected to the sclera, it will not respond as dramatically to the transient deformations associated with the micro¬ surgery. In effect, pursuing the motions of the limbus will allow the computerized control system to replicate the template pattern presented on the display by the user interface, even though the eye surface will be appreciably deforming during the course of the surgical procedure. In one embodiment of the invention, the transverse X-Y tracking detector consists of high speed quadrant detectors and a microprocessor such that updated position information is fed to the tracking mirror at frequencies substantially higher than the repetition rate of the laser, or the frame rate of the imaging camera. The response time of the tracking detector and processor should be sufficiently faster than the maximum repetition rate of the laser, so that laser firing can be disabled, if neces¬ sary. The response time of the detector and processor should also be higher than that of the driven tracking mirror, which must be capable of sufficiently high acceleration and velocity to compensate for the fastest motion possible by the intended target.

In Figure 5, light from the limbus 70 passes through the objective lens assembly 17, is reflected by the X-Y tracking mirror assembly 72, and is propagated via the beam splitting cubes 65 and 66 through the viewing lens 63 to be reflected off beam splitter 67 to the sensors of the X-Y tracking assembly 85. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a spatially sensitive sensor 50 comprising two quadrant detec¬ tors is used to track an image of the outer rim (at the limbus) of the iris 32. As shown in Figure 5A, the image at the quadrant detectors (each with four quadrants, 35, in this example) will then consist of a bright lune- shaped field corresponding to the sclera 33, adjacent to a darker field representing an image of the iris, 32. the very dark central core which is an image of the pupil 34, is not captured by the detectors, as Figure 5A illustrates, leaving a single sharp boundary to track. With various cells of the quadrant detector connected through differential amplifiers and nor- malized by the sum, the resultant signals are sensitive only to the posi¬ tion of the centroid of illumination of any of the above patterns. Quadrant detectors integrate the image illumination striking each quarter of the detector face. The luminosity impingent on the detector faces will then generate voltage differences corresponding to the integrated differences in fight hitting the detector parts. A change in background light intensity will be ignored, as the increase across the four (or eight) quadrants 35 of the detector face will remain the same. Voltage sums and differences among the quadrants serve to establish the relative direction of motion between two contiguous readings of the limbus position. A shift in inten¬ sity at the sensor is thereby traced to motion of the limbus. These dedi¬ cated quadrant detectors record voltage changes extremely rapidly and can observe and quantify contrast changes and edge motions in less than 100 microseconds. In alternate embodiments, similarly fast but more sensi- tive position sensing detectors are used in this application, yielding en¬ hanced performance at even lower light levels.

The voltage change information is relayed to the computer control assembly 16 wherein the actual coordinate shift is calculated. Control assembly 16 then determines the angular corrections to be relayed to the X-Y tracking mirror assembly 72 and activates a voice coil or other elec¬ tromagnetic drive assembly to pivot the orientation of mirror 72 so as to stabilize the X-Y motion of the limbus 70 with respect to system 10. This embodiment of a tracking system uses entirely analog signals and tech- niques to achieve tracking and can be made to work significantly more rapidly than even the fastest involuntary motions of the eye. In one preferred embodiment of the invention, the range of use, or travel, is 2 millimeters in the X-Y plane. For ophthalmic applications, where the principal motions of the eye are rotations, it is often prefera- ble to define the range of use in terms of angular sweep of the eye. For example, an angular motion of the eye of 5 degrees falls well within the domain of use of the X-Y tracking system. For a sighted human patient, it has been estimated that such range of use will acquire an eye looking at an image point located in the far field (relative to the patient) and situat- ed along the optical axis of the apparatus.

The transducers of the tracking system adjust the position of the X- Y mirror along two rotational axes at accelerations on the target in ex¬ cess of 20 microns per millisecond fo full amplitudes of over 2 millime- ters, based on microprocessor-provided information relating to the new location of the same tissue.

The eye surface 69 may be displaced in translation and/or by rota¬ tional motions centered on the globe of the eye; because the X-Y tracking mirror 72 rotates about a point within its assembly that is different from the eye's center of rotation, a desired change in X-Y tracking mirror posi¬ tion also requires a correction of the X-Y axis position of the depth rang¬ ing and tracking assembly 84. Consequently, the algorithm which pivots the X-Y tracking mirror 72 along paths 61 and 62, also must relay instruc- tions to the computerized control system to adjust the depth tracking and ranging assembly 84 so as to maintain the correct orientation. The pre- ferred methods to achieve this correction use a compensating mirror 60 within the Z-tracking assembly (not shown in Figure 5).

The tracking system system has the advantage of being able to find an absolute position on the target even after a temporary loss of tracking. For example, if a surgical procedure is in process and an obstacle, such as a blinking eyelid in many ophthalmic procedures, interposes the tracking image such that the procedure is interrupted or temporarily aborted, the tracking system will automatically store in memory the last positron in the firing sequence so that once the target is again reacquired, the exact location of the next point in the firing sequence can be determined auto¬ matically and the servo mirror be repositioned accordingly.

Figure 6 shows the surgical microscope loop. This subassembly in- eludes the low-light-level camera and the zoom optics. The camera pref¬ erably comprises an intensified video camera, for example a silicon inten¬ sified target (SIT) tube camera. Alternatively it can be a conventional video camera in combination with a microchannel-plate intensifier. In either event the camera's sensitivity preferably is about 1000 times that of a normal video camera, enabling the system to look at weakly scattered light and targets poorly illuminated for the desired levels of high magni¬ fication at large working distances.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the system uses a combination of specular and scattered light techniques for detecting and identifying diffusely reflecting surfaces, specularly reflecting surfaces, surface displacements, features, and shapes of the patient's tissue. This is particularly useful in the eye where it can prove difficult to differenti¬ ate between the amorphous tear layer anterior to the cornea and the structured epithelial surface layer of the cornea. Even the cell walls of the endothelial cells of the cornea or of the anterior lens capsule will scatter light. The intensified surgical microscope can produce an image of these actual cells by forming an image composed by detecting scattered light. The surgical microscope, as well as the tracking camera, can sub¬ stantially exclude specularly reflected light by cross polarization of se- lectively polarized illuminators. Other methods for reducing specular reflections preferentially to scattered images are also possible.

The microscope optics are designed to provide flat field, anastig- matic, achromatic, nearly diffraction limited imaging with optical magni- fication zoomable approximately over a 15-fold range of, say, 15X - 200X. The magnification is adjustable and is typically selected to correspond to the largest magnification which can still be comfortably used for situat¬ ing a lesion (that is, the smallest field of view which can be used when magnified across the fixed display size of the video monitor). For exam- pie, for corneal refractive surgery, where the surgeon needs to observe the cornea from limbus to limbus, this corresponds to a field of view of approximately 12 to 14 millimeters. At the screen, the zoom optics allow for adjustable magnification in the range of about 15X to 200X, for exam¬ ple. This enables the surgeon to view a very narrow field, on the order of a millimeter in width, or a much wider field at lesser magnification. This is useful in enabling the surgeon to assure himself that he is aimed and focused at a particular desired region. Zooming can be effected through use of a joystick, trackball, mouse, or other pointing device 42 to access a scroll bar in the user interface.

The function of the viewing mirror 68 shown in Figure 6 is to move the surgical microscope image on the screen to the left or right or up or down, independent of the aiming of any other subsystem.

Figure 7 shows the light path for the topography assembly 98, which provides a three dimensional mapping system directed at the sur¬ face of the target, e.g. the eye of the patient. In a preferred embodiment of the system 10 (as described by Sklar in U.S. patent No. 5,054,907 and further extended by McMillan and Sklar in copending U.S. patent application Serial No. 656,722 and by McMillan et. al. in copending U.S. patent applica- tion Serial No. , per ref. No. 266P cited above, all of which are in¬ corporated herein by reference), the subassembly 98 may comprise a light projector 95 including an internal profilometry source 90, an illumination mask 96, an optical collection system 94 and a profilometry assembly consisting of, e.g., an adjustable aperture 99 and a CCD camera 97 equipped with a frame grabber. In one preferred embodiment of the inven¬ tion, the light projector 95, using the profilometry source 90, projects a predetermined pattern, such as an array of dots arranged into rings and radial spokes converging to a common center, onto the tear layer of the eye. The reflected images of the predetermined pattern are collected by the optical assembly 94, which may include a set of plates to correct for any astigmatism induced by the tracking mirror 72 and any other interior mirrors, fed into the profilometer camera 97 through the aperture 99 for analysis. By controlling the angle of acceptance of the light bundle from each virtual image, the adjustable aperture acts as a spatial filter, pro¬ viding a physical representation of the source of paraxial rays through trade-offs between resolution and brightness. The camera includes means to digitize and electronically enhance the images. The signals are fed to a microprocessor which performs preliminary displacement analysis using software means (embedded within the controller 16) based on mathemati¬ cal morphological transformations as described by McMillan and Sklar (copending U.S. patent application Serial No. 656,722). The transforma¬ tions comprise a solution of a set of coupled differential equations, whereby the local normals and curvature parameters are computed at each data point so that the surface can be computed to within the measurement accuracy, and subsequently displayed on the video screen 20. The methods of light projection and profilometry permit the system 10 to operate with low intensity light signals to enhance safety and patient comfort while extracting significant signal levels from the noise background.

In other embodiments of the profilometry assembly, alternative projection techniques may be utilized in place of or in addition to the mapping and projection means described above. In one embodiment, an external profilometry source 89, consisting of an array of LED's projects a pattern of dots onto the eye in a manner described by McMillan et. al. in copending U.S. patrent application Serial No. ,

above as 266P. In this embodiment, curvature measurements of the anteri- or surface of the cornea can be obtained extending up to 8 mm in diameter around the center. Other techniques based on off-axis illumination may utilize, e.g., a slit lamp illuminator 77 to obtain measurements of the thickness of the cornea, the depth of the anterior chamber and/or the thickness of the lens (the latter coupled with standard keratoscopy methods to correct for corneal curvature). Mounting the slit lamp at a fixed location relative to a CCD camera (such as 97) and rotating the en¬ tire structure around a center axis would also provide a method to collect global corneal data (out to the limbus) yet without sacrificing local accu- racies, given the simultaneous 3D tracking capability already contained in the system. In this manner, the domain of topographic measurements can be extended from limbus to limbus while providing pachymetry data as well. Alternatively, topography methods based on Ronchi grating in con¬ junction with Moire interferometry, or advanced holographic techiniques as discussed by e.g., Varner (in Holographic Nondestructive Testing, Aca¬ demic Press, New York, 1974, pp.105) and by Bores (in Proceedings of Ophthalmic Technologies, SPIE Vol. 1423, CA. Puliafito, ed., pp. 28, 1991) may be utilized in future embodiments of the system 10, if warranted for specific interventions.

Figure 8 is a schematic optical layout of a preferred system of op¬ tics for the instrument of the invention. In Figure 8, a Schneider Cinelux Ultra 90-mm focal length f/2 lens is combined with a Schneider Tele- Xenar 360-mm focal length f/5.6 lens, matching conjugates to form a 4X/0.24 numerical aperture (N.A.) "objective lens" 17 with a working distance of 59 mm. This type of design embodies a key feature of the present invention, whereby a comfortable distance between the patient and the optics is implemented (sufficient to provide the surgeon/user enough open clear space to easily fit his hands between the front "objec¬ tive lens" 17 and the patient's eye/target surface 69) while maximizing the aperture ratio of the system. A beam splitter between the front and back lenses of this "objective lens" allows the 90-mm lens to also serve as the final focusing lens for the laser. A Schneider Xenon f/2 lens, with 28-mm focal length, relays the image to the camera contained within subassembly 86, with magnifications zoomable from about 0.4X -5.4X in this embodiment of the invention. An appropriate field lens 58 is used to provide uniform illumination across the image of the maximum 15-mm field of view at the object (eye) and to reduce the magnification. Zooming can be accomplished by computed-and-stepped motions of both the zoom lens 59 and the camera. The total optical magnification is thus zoomable in this embodiment from about 0.8 to 11. With the image incident on a 2/3- inch video detector and displayed on a thirteen-inch (diagonal) monitor, an additional 19X video magnification is gained, thus a maximum magnifica¬ tion from the target to the screen of about 200X is achieved.

Another important feature of the optics of the system of the inven¬ tion is that the servo tracking mirror 72 actually is positioned inside the "objective lens" assembly (the final element has been designed . to have sufficient field to accommodate the small misalignments caused by the tracking mirror). This enables the system to achieve rapid tracking of ocular features (or other tissue features) in an efficient and relatively simple assembly, without moving an entire objective lens in following the sometimes rapidly moving features.

The optical system is designed without correction for the aberra- tions of the eye. For work in the cornea no corrections are needed. For work at image planes located posteriorly to the cornea, such as the retina, for example, contact lenses 28 (e.g., Goldman or similar) may be used, as shown in Inset a of Figure 8.

As illustrated in Figure 8, the illuminator light beam contained within assembly 82, first is reflected off a turning mirror 73, then transmitted through mirror 64, to join substantially coaxially with the path of the laser beam along the beam axis 71 (see Figure 2). Both beams are then steered through the beam steering and aiming optics in assembly 81 and are reflected off a reflective surface in the polarizing beam splitter 65 before being incident the tracking mirror 72. The polarizing beam splitter 65 (along with beam splitter 67) effectively prevent inter¬ nal back reflections of the laser pulses from the optics of the system from damaging or overwhelming the sensitive video microscope camera contained in assembly 86.

Also indicated in Figure 8 are the optical tracking and viewing ele¬ ments namely, the depth ranging assembly 84, the X-Y tracking assembly 85, and the surgical microscope 86, all share the same optical path from beam splitter 66 to the eye. Some key design details of the Z-tracking assembly 84, including the illumination source (such as a red He-Ne laser) are shown in Inset b. These are described in more detail in copending U.S. patent application Serial No. 655,919.

As Figure 8 shows, the beams generated by the therapeutic laser 87 and the parallax ranger 82 are coaxial with each other, but the axis of these beams is not necessarily coaxial with the axis of view of the profil- ometer camera 97, the topography illumination source 90 or the other tracking/viewing assemblies 84, 85 and 86. This is because of directional steering Risley-prism sets 21 embedded within assembly 81 which are outside the optical path of assemblies 84, B.^c ana ~δ but within the opti¬ cal path of the parallax depth ranger 82 and i las^ 37. The Risley prisms are steerable via the computerized control ε aβmbly 16 under the control of the surgeon/user through user interface commands. They pro¬ vide means for adjusting about the X and Y axis, thus letting the physician select different locations for firing the laser as disclosed by Fountain and Knopp in copending U.S. patent application Serial No. 571 ,244. The two elements 82 and 87 therefore will only be coincident with the axis of view of the depth tracking assembly 84 when the surgeon aims the laser directly at the center of the field of view of assembly 84. In other in- stances they will share the same "optical path" via elements 72 and 17, but they will not be on identical axes. The Risley prisms within the as¬ sembly 81 allow movement of the actual aim of the therapeutic laser beam from the laser 87 to a real aiming point which is coincident with the computer-generated aiming points. The set of beam expander lenses 23 preferably are positioned as close as practical to final objective lens 17, and are initially adjusted so as to expand the diameter of the laser pulse emerging from the laser cavi¬ ty and collimate it so that a parallel but expanded beam of light emerges from the lens 22. The expanded, collimated beam is incident upon the final lens 17, and the expanded beam fills the lens to the extent compati¬ ble with vignetting for off-axis aiming. Thus, a large-diameter beam is focused by the lens 17, so that only at the point of focus within the eye is the diffraction limited pulsed laser beam effective in generating the de- sired therapeutic lesions in the eye. The depth of the focal point is varied by adjusting the distance between the two lenses 23, which has the effect of changing the degree of collimation and hence, the focus as indicated explicitely in Figure 8. The surgeon's adjustments of the focus of the beam via the computerized control system 16, are superimposed on top of the automatic adjustments effected by the tracking system, and net focus changes are carried out by the system. This is easily accomplished using hardware and software associated with the system which does not in itself form a part of the present invention.

The decoupling of the aiming and viewing functions allows off-axis work, which represents a major improvement in the function of the sys¬ tem 10, in that off-axis capability is a mandatory feature for corneal and most other applications. Thus, an independent mirror 68 is inserted up¬ stream of assembly 86 to allow viewing, while aiming is performed inde- pendently in the coaxial illumination path using the Risley prisms 21 of subassembly 81. In an alternative embodiment of the system disclosed herein, a secondary angular steering mirror 60 (not explicitely shown in Figure 8) may be added in assembly 84, to compensate for motion impart¬ ed by the X-Y tracking mirror which can, for large enough eye motions, cause the Z-tracking system to "lose lock".

Inset c of Figure 8 shows some schematic detail of the external slit lamp illuminator, provided in an alternative embodiment of the system 10 to augument and/or replace the internal profilometry illumination source 90, and provide ocular thickness measurements as was described above (see discussion following Figure 7). The slit lamp constitutes the only element of the system not coaxial with the optical path defined by the tracking mirror 72 and the "objective lens" 17 common to all the other subassemblies.

Figures 9a, 9b and 9c show three perspectives of an erogonomic rendition of the workstation which incorporates the entire system 10. The system 10 in this illustrated embodiment of the invention is intended for ophthalmic surgery, with the patient to be seated, as shown in Figure 9a, in a chair 11 with his forehead against a forehead rest 12 and his chin against a chin rest 13 as shown in Figure 9b. Both forehead and chin rests are fully adjustable. The surgeon/user is free to stand at a convenient location where he/she can survey the progress of the surgery as depicted on the video monitor means 18 (containing the video display means 27, including screen 20) as depicted in Figure 9c, while having direct access and observation of the patient, or to sit in a chair 14. The seats 11 and 14 for the patient and the surgeon, respectively, preferably are fully adjust¬ able with e.g., tracks 15 (shown in Figure 9a) for adjusting proximity to the apparatus and with full height and seat back adjustability.

A hand held system control switch 24 in Figure 9a may be provided for the surgeon as a safety device which will both enable the laser trig¬ gering means when sufficient pressure is exerted on the device 20 (via a simple toggle switch, for example), or alternatively will immediately interrupt laser firing if pressure on the control means 24 is released.

Figure 10 is a functional block diagram showing the principal com¬ ponents and individual control and informational feedback functions of the precision laser surgery system of the invention, all indicated as being under control of a central processing computer 16, designed to integrate and control the operation of the entire system 10. The computer may in¬ clude a microprocessor 140, software programs141 and firmware 142 as indicated in Figure 10, as well as a number of other control and indicator features (not indicated) such as the enabling (or disabling) of internal safety interrupts, a light-emitting diode (LED) display which indicates when the tracking system and target acquisition system are operational and on-target, an LED which lights up when the system components have successfully been verified to be performing within system specification ranges, an LED indicating power is on, and a dedicated video display func¬ tion to assist in detecting location of a system malfunction. Note that some key functions in the system are carried through dedicated micropro¬ cessors 150, which, for simlicity, are shown in Figure 10 sharing the same block as the central microprocessor 140.

During the start-up phase of the system 10, a complete system veri¬ fication is performed automatically without further prompting from the surgeon/user, including a set of internal diagnostics listing the status of operational use of the various assemblies. During this start-up phase, the assemblies shown in Figure 10 (and Figure 1) are each individually tested for operational status within prescribed tolerances. If all tolerance lev¬ els are satisfied, the user interface screen 20 appears and the system is enabled for use. Additional safety LEDs acknowledge sufficient pressure on the laser fire safety interlock in the hand held (or, foot pedal) safety device 24, and whether the microprocessor generated template pattern is in control of the firing sequence.

As shown in Figure 10, the central computer (which receives simul¬ taneous diagnostic measurement and tracking information) closes each control loop through a central fire control function shown as block 100 forming a critical part of the computer control assembly 16. This fail¬ safe mechanism is a key feature provided within the instrument and sys¬ tem 10. Thus, the computer, which directly controls laser firing, as indi¬ cated by control line 144, automatically interrupts the firing sequence should any of the required operational specifications not be met (such as loss of tracking, deviation of the pulse energy, etc.). If all preset condi¬ tions are met, the computer control assembly enables and fires the surgi- cal laser in accordance with preselected templates shown, functionally, as block 6. The required information comprises confirmation that the template is still positioned correctly, i.e. that the targeted feature of the eye has been tracked within a preselected time allotted, so that the imag- es of the eye remain stabilized. If this confirmation is not sent (or a contrary signal could be sent to signal -.that tracking is lost), the template controlled laser firing is immediately interrupted, as discussed in more detail below.

The user interface shown in a block 19 in Figure 10, communicates with the central computer unit 16 as indicated by control line 123, though it may also have some controls which do not involve the main micropro¬ cessor 140. Thus, if the surgeon wishes to generate a template for sur¬ gery, as shown in dashed line 131 , or merely to change the display on the video screen for the purpose of selecting a different type of presentation, or for imposing a different surgical path on the screen, these communica¬ tions are carried out through the central processor unit (CPU)140 (taken to include appropriate software 141 and firmware 142), which controls the computer-generated images on the screen as well as most other func- tions in the system. As such, once the surgeon/user has finally determined his selection of template,^' has superposed that template using the comput¬ er controls 16 onto the positioning diagnostics at the desired location where the surgery is to be effected, and the modifications to the shape of the template have been effected to accommodate for the particular con- figuration of the patient as observed through the video display means 27 (which includes the screen 20) and the reconstructed target cross- sections, then the system is set to automatically fire at a discretized approximation of the configuration selected on the video screen 20. Dis- cretization techniques, computer pattern overlay means, and the inherent CAD/CAM software techniques necessary to accomplish this process are known art and, as such, are not further described. The user's control of the template is thus indirect, proceeding via instructions received and stored in the computer memory, which, in turn, generates, processes and stores template information as shown by control line 121.

The CPU 140 is connected to a number of other components. For example, it can send information to an I/O unit (not shown in Figure 10) for record keeping. The transmissions may include, for example, patient history records to be printed or stored.

The CPU 140 can send control signals to a dedicated I/O boards 152 which may be used for e.g., driving motors associated with the steering Risley assembly 21 , as well as for driving X-Y axis adjustments and other tracking functions through software included in 151. Commercially available dedicated I/O boards are capable of handling 16 analog channels and three digital channels in the currently described embodiment of the system 10. Thus, one board (in, e.g., 142) can handle diagnostic informa¬ tion relating to laser status, position status, tracker mirror status, and other diagnostics which may be implemented as needed such as intraocu¬ lar temperature, intraocular pressure readings, and surface wave propaga- tion measurements to enable calculation of the Young's modulus and other elasticity constants in an effort to determine applicable constitutive relations. The sensors for these conditions of the eye are not shown in the drawings, but can be incorporated in the system of the invention.

In Figure 10, the surgeon/user indicated at 8. Interaction between the surgeon and the patient is mostly indirect (as shown by dashed line 5), via the instrument and system of the invention. Thus, information and data concerning the patient's tissue is fed back, indirectly, through the instru¬ ment, to the surgeon, via the video display 27, contained within the user interface 19. The surgeon/user inputs instructions and commands to the user interface 19 and the user interface feeds back information to the user, principally via the video screen 20. This is indicated by a line 25.

The pointing device 42 is indicated in Figure 10 as a key link in the surgeon's control of the user interface. It is used to control all aspects of the operation from generating templates to viewing, diagnosing and treating the target tissue.

The eye/target 3 is shown as sending information to a topography system 98 (comprising a light projector 95 and topographic data collec- tion system 77), a viewing/imaging system 86 (comprising blocks 46 through 49), and to X-Y and Z position analysis tracking detectors 50 and 53 contained within assemblies 85 and 84, respectively. As represented in Figure 10, the imaging/viewing system 86 comprises the video micro¬ scope 46, which presents the tissue video image (exemplified in Figures r 12 through^'15 discussed below), the zoom control 47, the aiming viewing 48 and the focus viewing means 49. An double-ended arrow 127 indicates transmission of the video information to the video display means 27, forming a part of the user interface 19, and resulting in live video images 4, on the video screen 20. The control arrow 127 between the user inter¬ face and the viewing system 86 also indicates that the surgeon may con- trol the magnification of the video microscope depicted in the block 46 via zoom control function 47, as well as view selected aim points and beam focus, all of which comprise parts of the complete assembly 86.

The control line 123 from the user interface to the microprocessor (which indicates the surgeon user's selections made by input controls other than touch screen), thus serves to represent another user input to the microprocessor 140 active when the user steers the field of vision and the aim of the laser. Such deliberate control by the surgeon will indi¬ rectly control the laser beam aiming and focus via the microprocessor, (along the control lines 113 and 114 as discussed below). User interface signals to the computer control are also used by the CPU to adjust the com¬ puter-generated images accordingly, reflecting precisely the desired change in beam focus, image magnification and aim points.

The content of signals sent by the microprocessor (CPU) 140 to the video screen (along control line .123) relate also to the computer- generated topographical images acquired as shown by line 101 from the topography system 98, and discussed further below. The CPU also controls the display of the branching look-up tables 30 shown on the screen 20, as well as other pull-down menus, displays and other pertinent information. In Figure 10 information about the eye 3 is shown as being sent to a block 77 labeled Topography via control line 104. The arrow 102 indicates the derivation of such information from the eye via the projection system 95 while the transformation and processing of said information by the topography system 77 is represented by arrow 103. An information con¬ trol line 101 indicates processing and feed-back via the Computer control assembly 16 and dedicated microprocessors contained in 150. The block 77 is taken to include the sensors, CCD cameras, such as profilometer camera 97, optical collection assembly 94, aperture 99 and analysis loops. As represented in Figure 10, the functions of a dedicated microprocessor and programming for this subsystem are included within blocks 150 and 151 , respectively. The derived information relating to the topography of the eye tissues is then sent to the tracking and stabilization blocks dis¬ cussed next.

The X-Y position analysis and tracking system (contained within assembly 85 and described operationally for Figure 5) proceeds primarily through the tracking detectors 50 and the servo drive 51 , but is also un¬ derstood to include the servo logic loops and any associated optics re- quired to steer the light emanating from the images received from the target eye 3, as indicated by arrow 108, for the said purpose of detecting and following any movement of the patient's tissue. This information is relayed to the X-Y servo drive 51 , via information control loop 109 which, in turn, controls the tracking mirror 72, as indicated by arrow 116. This logic sequence indicates that the detectors subsystem, after analyzing the images and determining that a feature has moved, sends information or instructions to the servo drive, which constitutes the target tracking assembly (along with dedicated processors included in 150). The informa- tion or instructions can comprise new coordinates for the position of mirror 72. The target tracking assembly thus translates the new coordi- nates into instructions for the mirror drivers via arrow 116 to the servo mirror 72), which instructions may include coordinate transform informa¬ tion and commands for the tracking mirror 72 to turn to a new angle which will again be centered on the same features.

An information arrow 111 , shown between the position analysis tracking detectors and the computer control 16, indicates processing of the information and stabilization of the video images by a dedicated mi¬ croprocessor, contained within the units150 shown in Figure 10 (for sim¬ plicity) as embedded within the central computer assembly 16. Computer processing functions relating to the X-Y tracking unit include appropriate programming units which are able to analyze data taken by the tracking detectors 50 and to determine from the data when features have moved and to relocate those features and calculate new coordinates for mirror position. Some of these functions were described further with reference to Figure 5. The control arrow 117 also represents feedback from the mirror assemblies as to their actual position, as well as confirmation that the mirror was physically moved, i.e. that the instruction to the mirror resulted, where indicated, in a physical displacement. If this move does not occur, the system loops back to the target tracking assembly which sends a signal along control loop 144 to disable the laser firing. The important control arrow 144 thus relates to the preferred safety feature embodied within the present invention. The target tracking assembly, if unable to track the moved feature to a new location within the time allot¬ ted (which may be as fast as few milliseconds in a preferred embodi¬ ment), will send an instruction to an internal fire control 100 to abort firing of the laser, and this command is relayed to the laser power control via arrow 144. The automatic fire control mechanism representes by block 100 will also interrupt the execution of the template program, vis a vis the control line 121 in Figure 10. The interrupt preferably fasts only until the feature is recovered via the tracking loop (discussed above), if in fact the feature is recovered.

Examples of tracking loss not associated with the logic loop are failure of the signal to be effected by the servo drivers, required mirror motion exceeding the limiting displacement of the servo driven actuators and malfunction of the drivers or slides. Safety controls which shut down the operation of the system whenever tracking is lost are a feature of the present embodiment of the invention but are not further described as they comprise standard safety devices known in the field.

In one embodiment of the invention, a microprocessor in block 150 also controls the tracking mirror or servo mirror 72, as indicated, by arrow 117. The microprocessor controls the mirror in response to input from the tracking detectors 50 in conjunction with suitable programming firmware and software 152 and 151 , respectively. Thus, once the tracking detectors input signals to the microprocessor (via control line 111) which indicate that the subject tissue has undergone movement, the micropro- cessor handles the position analysis and the target tracking (mirror in¬ struction) and outputs a signal in response to the results of the tracking to the tracking mirror 72 as indicated by line 117.

A dashed control 120 from the servo tracking mirror 72 to the laser aim block 75, indicates that the laser aim is steered along with the X-Y tracking (as discussed in reference to Figure 4). In a preferred embodi¬ ment, there may be an additional control line (not shown in Figure 10) from the tracking mirror to the viewing assembly 86 to allow for the fact that since the laser and surgical microscope lines of sight are not coaxial, the field of tissue being viewed and the laser are always decoupled.

It is noted that the dedicated microprocessor or other logic unit having the capability of carrying out the logic sequence needed for pattern recognition, coordinate transform analysis and generating instructions to the mirror drivers to appropriately adjust the X-Y position of the mirror 72 can also be included within the servo drive 51 , in which case the func¬ tion of the separate control arrow 111 is obviated.

Similarly, the Z-tracking detectors 53 (contained within the depth tracking assembly 84 discussed earlier in connection with Figure 3) send commands regarding viewing depth and beam focus to a Z servo drive via control loop 106, which, in turn relays the information to the final focus¬ sing lens 17 via information loop 105. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the change in orientation of the tracking mirror 72 is communi¬ cated to the Z-tracking compensator mirror 60 via control loop 130. This feature is provided to maintain the focus of the Z-tracking system on the instantaneous vertex of the cornea, as discussed above with reference o Figure 8.

We note that the final focussing lens also forms a part of the imag¬ ing system 86, in the sense that the surgical microscope receives light on a path which passes through this lens 17, and the focus of the imaging is adjustable at 48 and 49 by the surgeon/user; consequently, no separate control line leading from the objective lens to the viewing assembly is indicated in Figure 10.

The user interface activated laser fire control is shown by line 144 with arrowhead toward block 44 representing an internal laser fire con¬ trol mechanism which turns on the power source 44 that acts as the driver for the therapeutic laser 87. The fire control sequence is initiated by the surgeon/user when clicking the mouse 42 which moves a cursor across the video screen. Firing can be manually interrupted by pushing the "abort" button 24, provided as an additional safety feature that is under control of the surgeon/user as indicated in Figure 10 by dashed line 125.

When operating, a fraction of the beam passes through a laser diag¬ nostic assembly 74, as shown by control line 129 which serves the pur¬ pose of monitoring the laser pulse energy to insure it is performing to specification. The information is relayed to the central computer unit 16 to be analysed and compared with specified parameters, as indicated by line 112. The laser beam also passes through the steering and aiming subas¬ semblies shown as blocks 75 and 76 (contained within subassembly 81). The steering assembly 75 includes the Risley prisms, which are not under the direct control of the surgeon. The beam focusing assembly includes beam expander 22, which are likewise not under the direct control of the surgeon. Note that the entire beam steering, aiming and positioning loop also includes the front objective element 17 as was discussed vis-a-vis Figure 4. So, again there is no separate control is indicated beween the objective lens and the beam steering and focusing blocks 75 and 76. In¬ stead, these subsystems . are shown as receiving direct control instruc¬ tions from the central microprocessor via control lines 113 and 114 (which include indirect information relayed through the tracking mirror 72 and objective lens 17, both of which are adjusted via appropriate servo drives whenever the patient's target tissue moves).

Finally, the dashed line 5 indicates the laser beam's action on the target, i.e. the patient; the actual laser treatment is thus only indirectly controlled by the surgeon/ user.

Figure 11 shows again separate functional blocks for the target viewing assembly, the target tracking assembly, the topography assembly, the beam positioning/aiming assembly and the fire control, all shown now as being activated by the user interface, which is in turn manipulated by the surgeon/user through a suitable pointing device 42 also indicated in this Figure. The operator/user interface interaction takes place primarily through the video screen means 20 (and associated elements such as the pointing device 42) as indicated by control line 25, while central micro¬ processor control of the interface is shown by line 123. The user interface 19 comprises for the most part an "intelligent" menu of options available to the surgeon, the video screen 20 which displays the options in a suit¬ able number of modules, the pointing device 42 (such as a mouse, joystick, trackball, light pen, etc.) for making selections from the menu, the fire control (or "abort") button 24 and various other buttons and numerical displays as were indicated in Figure 9c in front of the surgeon/user. Aside from the safety feature indicators discussed previously, the trackball 42 (or other pointing device, as mentioned above) enables the surgeon/user to control and select from among the various software options available for a given mode of operation. Rotation of the tractkball controls the positron of a cursor on the video screen. A button next to the ball enables special features on the screen and allows the user to superimpose the proposed therapy on the video generated images of the target tissue. In the present invention, commercially available computer graphics software packages form a portion of the basis for providing the surgeon/user access to defin¬ ing surgical templates. Other buttons allow the surgeon/user to switch from selecting previously defined templates, to modifying or creating new templates.

With the user interface, the surgeon is able to make selections as to types of surgery or templates to be used in the surgery, to view different portions of the tissue, to aim the laser, including the depth at which the laser fires, and to fire the laser or execute a pre-programmed sequence of firings. It also enables the surgeon user to interrupt the procedure at any time. The surgeon makes his selections by moving a cursor across a Win- dows menu consisting of several modules each containing a number of options that can be displayed in the form of a branching look-up table 30 and pull-down menus. The cursor is manipulated, preferably by (in order to obviate the risks of miskeying on a keyboard) the pointing device 42 allud¬ ed to above. The symbols in the menu will include the type of display desired for the screen as shown in the examples displayed in Figures 12 through 15; selection of templates from among pre-programmed patterns for the proposed surgical procedure; other surgical parameters such as the laser pulse power level or the repetition rate of the laser beam; the be¬ ginning and ending diopter power of the corneal "lens" or, more generally, the optical prescription; the shape of the lesions; modifications of the templates or creation of new templates, memory storage and retrieval of information; record keeping and access to patient history files; access to statistical information about the likely outcome of a proposed surgical procedure; a selection of levels within the eye for which information is desired for a given surgical procedure; and others.

All of the above operational functions are created through software programming, the details of which do not in themselves form a part of the invention and are within the skill of the programmer.

As shown in Figure 11 , the surgeon starts the procedure by generat- ing a template (or a set of templates), a function indicated in block 131.

Based on a set of pre-programmed patterns, the patient's optical prescrip- tion or -- in the case of controlled animal studies - actual templates for the proposed procedure (derived from other previous surgeries conducted by himself or by other surgeons and stored in memory), means are provided for the surgeon to create a new template or modify an old template by

5 appropriate resizing and rescaling. The list of pre-stored patterns may include geometric shapes such as annuli, arcs, boxes, ellipses, radii, and others, as shown in the pull-down menu 36 of Figure 12, under the "utili¬ ties" module 31. Specific types of operations and/or lesions may be se¬ lected from among options stored under the "treatment" module shown as

0 vertical box 37 in Figure 13. For example, in the case of corneal surgery, the starting point for generating templates for a particular eye segment may consist of selection from among a collection of relevant lesions, such as tangential (T-cut) or, for radial keratotomy, radial (2-rad, 4-rad, etc.), as illustrated in vertical box 38 of Figure 13. Different sets of patterns

5 are provided for e.g., cataract surgery, posterior eye segment surgery, or other forms of intervention for which the system of the present invention is deemed appropriate. Specific shapes of lesions can therefore be. select¬ ed by the surgeon such as, e.g., the screens as shown in Figure 12 and 14 for corneal surgery, or a different set of screens for cataract surgery, or

!0 yet a different set of screens for posterior eye segment procedures. In a preferred embodiment of the display, templates are drawn on the screen in three dimensions through selection from several standard geometrical shapes as shown in Figure 12. Alternatively, a free form option may be included to allow the surgeon to draw arbitrary shapes as may be appro-

:5 priate for certain types of surgical procedures. Selection of a treatment plane can also be done through, e.g., an "orientation" menu, indicated in box 37 of Figure 13, under the "treatment" module. The selected patterns can then be used as depicted or, if a closed curve is indicated, filled in automatically according to the prescribed distance between firing loca¬ tions as indicated in the menu selection under e.g., the "set parameters" box 39 illustrated in Figure 14 and contained in the "treatment" module 37 depicted in Figure 13.

The patterns selected are superposed on a grid, shown on the screen, with spacings corresponding to appropriate dimensions within the eye. For example, in the case of corneal surgery, a 10x10 grid with 1-mm spacings would adequately describe the human cornea (which has a diame- ter of about 12 mm). The areascbetween the grid points are transparent to the treatment bear

When pre-pr.. .rammed templates of the surgical path to be followed are used, such as in controlled animal studies, the surgeon has access to the same options as indicated above, in addition to superimposing directly the template on the screen over the ocular tissues.

Access to magnification is provided throughout the template selec¬ tion and diagnostics phase through a zoom option, located on the screen. This function is within the domain of the viewing/imaging assembly and is indicated as block 138 in Figure 11. The surgeon can thus view any desired segment of the treated area and/or the shape of the proposed lesions, at varying magnifications up to the limit imposed by the hard¬ ware. The first step in the surgical procedure involves patient eye diag¬ nostics, including key topographic measurements such as provided by profilometry, keratometry and comeoscopy as indicated by the block 132 in Figure 11. A "diagnostics" module may be provided in a preferred em- bodiment of the user interface, an example of which is shown in Figure 15. This module may comprise commands to perform various non-invasive procedures and present the results in the form of three-dimensional graphics and refractive power maps. Controls of the viewing system and the tools for performing measurements may all be exercised concurrently within this module. Thus, profilometry measurements, which involve the topography subassembly 98, provide the surgeon with data on the patient's corneal surface. The procedure involves projection of a pre-selected pat¬ tern unto the eye, or other alternative techniques, as was discussed for Figure 7. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the 16-spoke, 5-ring pattern shown in Figures 12 and14, has been selected, although other patterns may be appropriate for different procedures. The reflected imag¬ es are grabbed, digitized and spatially transformed to reproduce key sur¬ face characteristics, which are saved as a file on the disk. The keratome¬ try means reads from the file to generate a 3D surface that can be dis- played on the screen in the form of a contour map as part of the comeos¬ copy routine, once the appropriate radii and planes have been selected. An example of such a power map is also shown in Figure 15. In one embodi¬ ment of the software, a 75x75 matrix is used to generate the surface projection, in the form of e.g., an equi-power map 92. The 3D pattern can be manipulated by means of a scroll bar to rotate and tilt it. It can also be displayed in the form of a color coded contour map as visual aid to indi- cate feature elevation. A palette is provided in the menu under, e.g., the "utilities" module to allow color selection for the display.

Based upon the corneal measurements, the spatial map of the refrac- tive power of the cornea can also be constructed. This may also be includ¬ ed in the diagnostics module, and the power map can be presented in a separate window, if desired.

As discussed above, Figures 12 through15 show examples of what may be displayed on a screen 20 of the video monitor 18. The information on the screen 20 is intended to give the user a full range of information regarding the three dimensional structure and features of the particular tissues on which laser surgical procedures are to be performed. In a pre¬ ferred embodiment of the user interface, some symbols are included on the screen such as in vertical strips 31 , 36, 37, 38, 39 and 40 shown on the screens in Figures 12, 13,14 and 15. These symbols comprise a menu . of selections for the surgeon/user. Other display means can also be used to present data in a more easily understood manner to the surgeon/user. For example, in Figure 15, a preferred embodiment of the graphical repre- sentation means 92 or the topographical map means 93, is shown in a super-posed manner. These can also be shown as separate windows. The menu 40, shown in Figure 13, may be used to generate on the video screen to show pertinent measurement data relating to the tissue on which sur¬ gery is to be performed. A final selection of the reference surface at a given target depth can be made concurrently with the diagnostics routine, by entering appropriate data in box 39 of Figure 14 (which corresponds, in the example of Figure 13, to the "set parameters" menu, shown as part of the "treatment" module 37) and observing the immediate effect on the reconstructed corneal surface, displayed in a manner similar to the exam¬ ple shown in Figure 15. This type of corneoscopy display provides critical aid to the surgeon in determining e.g., the degree of astigmatism present in the patient's tissue. In the preferred embodiment, the user will also be able to superimpose the template of the selected surgical path on the video microscope-generated image of the corneal (or other tissue).

A key step in the treatment involves selection of laser operating parameters for the actual surgery, indicated by block 133 in Figure 11 and illustrated in the photograph of the user interface, as depicted by box 39 in Figure 14. The principal parameters included in the treatment module may include the energy of the laser, the repetition rate, desired spacing between fire points, desired lesion depth and thickness (for the surface selected earlier), direction of treatment along the Z-axis (inward, out¬ ward), lesion radius for selected profile projections, and other pertinent parameters as may be indicated by a particular type of surgery to be per¬ formed. Figures 12 and 14 also show examples of what may be indicated on the screen for a selected corneal lesion shape which is shown in two projections, customarily referred to as S-l (superior-inferior) and N-T (nasal-temporal). In a preferred embodiment of the elements included in the system 10, the maximum energy/pulse is 0.3 mJ, in which case the spacing has a default value of 14 um, as determined by the bubble size for that level of energy at that particular wavelength. These parameters are relevant to corneal procedures; appropriate laser parameters must be selected for alternate ophtalmic procedures, such as operations on the lens, for which the hardware of present invention can also be suitably modified.

5 The surgeon can thus use the information provided in the various windows to provide diagnostic information of the actual condition of the target tissue to the surgeon/user. Thus, the surgeon might first establish the pattern in the screen in plane view, observe the results of his selec- tion in various perspective views as shown in Figures 12 and14, wherein 0 the proposed lesion is automatically indicated, and reflect upon the likely outcome of the surgery with the ability to edit, and alter as desired, the designated template pattern prior to initiating the procedure.

At any point during the diagnostics and the lesion selection phase, 5 the user can superpose the actual laser aim points on the proposed lesion shapes and/or image of the tissue (from the video camera) indicated on the screen through a click of the mouse, on the "show aim points" option from, e.g., the "treatment" module, box 37, in Figure 13. This option is also activated just prior to the final step in the procedure, which involves 10 actual firing of the laser to perform the surgery, as indicated by block 144 in Figure 11.

The template-controlled laser firing must occur precisely in accor¬ dance with the preselected targeting sequence. It is the tracking system

'ϊ

15 (including diagnostic, tracking and mirror movement) which is the critical link in this feedback loop. This function is indicated by block 134 in Fig- ure 11. The tracking feature is automatically activated during diagnostic and treatment phases. As noted earlier in this disclosure, if the tracking subsystem fails to move the servo controlled turning mirrors to maintain the target within acceptable error tolerances, then the template- controlled laser firing will be disabled until the images are again reac- quired or until the surgeon re-initiates the program. Likewise, if an ob¬ struction (such as a blinking eyelid for ophthalmic procedures or transient debris in industrial procedures) were to interfere with the imaging/ tracking light path (which also corresponds with the . laser beam path), the template-controlled laser firing will be interrupted until the images are reacquired and the appropriate position in the template firing sequence is recovered. The closed loop 135 indicates automatic aim point mainte¬ nance for the laser. If all conditions are met (patient ready, tracking is on¬ line, laser is armed), the surgeon may select the "start" option under the "treatment" module 37 (see Figure 13) which commences the surgery. If, at any time loss of tracking is indicated, or other, potentially unsafe conditions are encountered (such as energy deviation, per, e.g., block 136 in Figure 11), the firing sequence is automatically immobilized through safety interlock features shown as block 100 in Figure 11 (see also Figure 10). The surgeon can also choose to interrupt the procedure manually by pressing on the fire control or, abort switch 24, also connected to the safety interlock system. In either case, the last aim point position is stored in the computer memory, along with all other pertinent data con¬ cerning the operation. The procedure can therefore be resumed at will by clicking a "continue" option (also shown in box 37 of Figure 13). This has the effect of allowing the target area to be reacquired and tracked, and the laser will then fire according to the original pattern and sequence selected, starting at the precise aim point location last exercised prior to the interruption.

Upon completion of the operation, a "report" option (see, e.g., box 37 in Figure 13) may be provided, whereby the procedure details can be summarized and pertinent statistical information stored and displayed. A "statistical" module (not shown) may be provided as part of the software (e.g., under the "file" module) to fulfil this function. Characteristics of the treatment which may be recorded and reported may include the total number of laser pulses fired, the total energy deposited into the tissue, time elapsed and other pertinent data.

A disc file input/output (I/O) module is also incorporated to support all the necessary exchanges with external memory devices. Thus all the information about a given surgical session can be stored for future analy¬ sis and/or reports, along with the values selected for all parameters, templates, and personal data. The results of the profilometric measure¬ ments can be stored in a separate file, which may be retrieved when needed.

Note that the techniques for obtaining mapping and profile informa¬ tion of selected surfaces within the eye in the embodiments of the pres¬ ent invention are not limited to any one specific surface. The techniques described herein apply to either the cornea or the iris, lens, etc.. With some modification in the imaging optics, retinal procedures may be in- eluded as well (note that the retina is a reflecting surface in that there is an index of refraction change across the surface. Consequently, there will be for each incident light ray a reflected ray, a refracted ray, ray absorp¬ tion, and scattering of light, all of which must be taken into account when selecting specific methods for acquiring and interpreting data).

It should also be understood that the system of the invention is useful to the surgeon as a diagnostic and analytical tool, aside from its uses in actual surgery. The system provides for the doctor highly stabi- Iized images of the patient's tissue -- particularly the ocular tissue -- not achievable with instruments prior to this invention. The doctor is given a display of the tissues, along with simultaneous tracking and stabi¬ lization. The invention therefore gives the doctor a very important tool in analysis and diagnosis of a patient's condition, and the invention should be understood to encompass the system as described even without the surgi¬ cal laser beam itself. The system, with its computer-generated images on the display screen as well as direct video microscopic images displays of the patient target, gives the doctor a means of visualizing the eye condi- ^' tion, as a replacement for the doctor's directly looking at the target tis- sues. The Template-Controlled Surgical Laser (or, Ophthalmic Surgical Workstation) invention should be considered as including the user inter¬ face, the computer and memory storage device relative to creating, modi¬ fying, storing, and executing surgical template programs. This assembly is defined in greater detail by Sklar in U.S. patent application Serial No. 475,657 incorporated herein by reference. The above described preferred embodiments are intended to illustrate the principles of the invention but without limiting its scope. Other embodiments and variations to these preferred embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art and may be made without departing from the essence and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.

Claims

WE- CLAIM:

1. A laser workstation for precision ophthalmic surgery at a surgery site on a patient, comprising: therapeutic laser means for generating a short pulse laser beam capable of effecting photodisruption of the patient's eye tissue so as to effect the desired surgery by sequences of pulses traversing through a surgical path in the tissue, including within transparent tissue of the patient's eye, user interface means including control means for enabling the surgeon to select and initiate a pattern of surgery in the ocular tissue of the patient, and including high resolution video imaging means with a video monitor, for presenting live, magnified video images of the surgery site to the surgeon, a laser beam delivery system including

(a) optical path means for receiving the short pulse laser beam and for redirecting and focussing the beam as desired toward a' target in the patient's eye, including a front lens element from which the beam exits the optical path means toward the patient,

(b) beam steering means connected to the optical path means for controlling the position at which the beam is pointed in X-Y directions,

(c) beam focussing means connected to the optical path means for controlling the depth at which the laser beam is focussed, tracking means for tracking eye movements of the patient during the progress of the surgery, including X-Y tracking means for tracking a feature of the eye in X and Y directions, and depth or Z tracking means for tracking depth movements of the eye's feature, toward and away from the workstation, microprocessor means connected to the tracking means for automatically shifting the optical path means as the feature of the eye is tracked through X-Y and Z movements, so as to change the aim and focus of the laser beam when necessary to follow such movements of the eye, and safety interrupt means associated with the microprocessor means for interrupting delivery of the laser beam to the patient when it is determined via the microprocessor means that the tracking means has lost the feature being tracked.

2. A laser workstation according to claim 1, further including laser energy monitoring means for sampling the laser beam from the optical path means, and for feeding a signal representing the energy magnitude to the microprocessor means, and the safety interrupt means further including means for interrupting delivery of the laser beam when the signals from the laser energy monitoring means indicate that energy is above or below a prescribed range.

3. A laser workstation according to claim 1, further including parallax depth ranging means connected into the optical path means, for tracking the depth of the eye's feature in a broader range of depth than the Z tracking means, the parallax depth ranging means being connected to the microprocessor means and being effective to assist in focussing the treatment beam to structure below the transparent cornea.

4. A laser workstation according to claim 1, wherein the Z tracking means comprises a separate tracking subassembly from the X-Y tracking means, both being folded onto the optical path means.

5. A laser workstation according to claim 4, wherein the Z-tracking means includes means for maintaining essentially constant distance between the front lens element and the targeted eye tissue.

6. A laser workstation according to claim 4, wherein the X-Y tracking means comprises means for tracking the limbus of the eye.

7. A laser workstation according to claim 1, wherein the X-Y tracking means includes means for tracking the limbus of the eye.

8. A laser workstation according to claim l, further including ocular topographic mapping means connected into the optical path means, for determining surface shapes of the eye and for displaying such shapes and data regarding such shapes on the video monitor.

9. A laser workstation according to claim 8, wherein the ocular topographic mapping means includes means for determining topographical shapes of at least the epithelium and the endothelium of the cornea, as well as the thickness of the cornea between the epithelium and the endothelium.

10. A laser workstation according to claim 9, wherein the ocular topographic mapping means further includes means for determining topographical shapes of the ocular lens.

11. A laser workstation according to claim 8, wherein the ocular topographic mapping means includes means acting in combination with the microprocessor means for display on the video monitor a contour elevation map of a surface of the eye, in different selectable perspectives.

12. A laser workstation according to claim 11, wherein the topographic mapping means and the microprocessor means further include numerical display means for displaying on the monitor diagnostic data pertaining to shapes of surfaces of the eye.

13. A laser workstation according to claim 11, further including superimposing means associated with the video monitor and the microprocessor means for enabling the surgeon to superimpose a pattern of proposed surgery on the video image of the contour elevation map.

14. A laser workstation according to claim 1, wherein the video imaging means and the microprocessor means include means for displaying an indicated laser aim point on the live video image on the video monitor, superimposed on the surgery site in the patient's eye tissue.

15. A laser workstation according to claim 14, further including means for displaying on the video monitor a depth or z position of the laser aiming point in the patient's eye tissue.

16. A laser workstation according to claim 1, wherein the high resolution video imaging means is coaxial with the laser beam through the front lens element of the optical path means and includes zooming means for enabling selectable variable magnification of the video image on the video monitor.

17. A laser workstation according to claim 16, wherein the zooming means includes means for providing variable magnification up to 250 times.

18. A laser workstation according to claim 16, wherein the resolution of the high resolution video imaging means is better than five microns.

19. A laser workstation according to claim 1, further including template means under the control of the user for generating and implementing a preprogrammed template or path of successive laser photodisruption points across the patient's eye tissue, and for automatically carrying out the template-controlled surgery without active participation by the user during the surgery.

20. A laser workstation according to claim 1, further including template means for enabling the user to draw, adjust or designate a particular template pattern of preprogrammed surgery, as overlaid on video images of the patient's eye tissue displayed on the video monitor.

21. A laser workstation according to claim 20, wherein the template means includes means for converting a template pattern into a sequence of automatic motion instructions to direct a laser beam to focus sequentially on a number of points in three-dimensional space which will, in turn, replicate the designated template pattern onto the surgery site.

22. A method for conducting precision ophthalmic surgery at a surgery site on a patient, comprising: generating a short pulse laser beam capable of effecting photodisruption of the patient's eye tissue so as to effect the desired surgery by sequences of pulses traversing through a surgical path in the tissue, including within transparent tissue of the patient's eye, providing a user interface control means for enabling the surgeon to select and initiate a pattern of surgery in the ocular tissue of the patient, presenting live, high resolution, magnified video images of the surgery site to the surgeon on a video monitor,using a high resolution video imaging means, with a laser beam delivery system, performing the steps of

(a) receiving the short pulse laser beam and redirecting and focussing the beam with optical means and when appropriate toward a target in the patient's eye, through a front lens element,

(b) controlling the position at which the beam is pointed in X-Y directions, using a beam steering means connected to the optical means,

(c) controlling the depth at which the laser beam is focussed, with a beam focussing means connected to the optical means, tracking eye movements of the patient during the progress of the surgery, in X and Y directions, with an X-Y tracking means for tracking a feature of the eye, and as to depth movements of the eye with a depth or Z tracking means, automatically shifting the optical path means as the feature of the eye is tracked through X-Y and Z movements, so as to change the aim and focus of the laser beam when necessary to follow such movements of the eye, with the aid of a microprocessor connected to the tracking means, and automatically interrupting delivery of the laser beam to the patient when it is determined via the microprocessor that the tracking means has lost the feature being tracked.

23. The method of claim 22, further including determining surface shapes of the eye automatically using an ocular topographic mapping means connected to the optical path means and displaying such shapes and data regarding such shapes on the video monitor.

24. The method of claim 22, further including monitoring substantially continuously the laser beam from the optical means, and feeding a signal representing the energy magnitude to the microprocessor, and automatically interrupting delivery of the laser beam when the signals from laser energy monitoring indicate that energy is above or below a prescribed range.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the pulsed laser beam has a repetition rate of at least about 200 pulses per second, with each pulse having less than two millijoules energy in a near-diffraction-limited beam, each pulse having a duration between about one and twenty nanoseconds, and wherein the laser beam is focussed to a spot size of less than five microns.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the laser beam is focussed below the anterior surface of the cornea, and including the steps of making T-cut or radial incisions to effect optical corrections of deficiencies such as myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism, through the creation of a precise lesion within the stroma.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the wavelength of the laser beam is in a range permitting reasonably good transmission through the cornea, i.e. between about 450 and 900 nanometers.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the wavelength of the laser beam is approximately 532 nanometers.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein the laser beam is focussed into the lens of the eye for modification to effect precise lesions for the prevention of presbyopia.

30. The method of claim 29, further including tracking the depth of the eye's feature in a broader range of depth than the Z-tracking means with a parallax depth ranging means, the parallel depth ranging means being connected to the microprocessor means, and using the parallax depth ranging means to assist in focusing the treatment beam to structure below the transparent cornea.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein the wavelength of the laser beam is in the range of about 450 to 900 nanometers.

32. The method of claim 25, wherein the laser beam is pulsed at a repetition of over 1000 pps and focussed onto the lens of the eye, the pattern of. surgery being such as to remove cataracts from the lens.

33. The method of claim 25, wherein the laser beam is focussed on the posterior capsule of the eye, the pattern of surgery being such as to effect capsulotomy.

34. The method of claim 26, including maintaining essentially constant distance between the front lens element and the targeted eye tissue using the Z-tracking means.

35. The method of claim 26, wherein the step of tracking eye movements in X and Y directions comprises tracking the limbus of the eye.

36. The method of claim 26, further including determining surface shapes of the eye automatically using an ocular topographic mapping means connected to the optical path means and displaying such shapes and data regarding such shapes on the video monitor.

37. The method of claim 36, including determining topographical shapes of at least the epithelium and the endothelium of the cornea, as well as the thickness of the cornea between the epithelium and the endothelium.

38. The method of claim 36, including displaying on the video monitor a contour elevation map of a surface of the eye, in different selectable perspectives, using the ocular topographic mapping means in cooperation with the microprocessor.

39. The method of claim 38, further including, under the control of the surgeon, superimposing a pattern of proposed surgery on the video image of the contour elevation map on the video monitor.

40. The method of claim 26, further including, under the control of the surgeon, drawing, adjusting or designating a particular template pattern of pre-programmed surgery, as overlaid on video images of the patient's eye tissue displayed on the video monitor.

41. The method of claim 25, wherein the laser beam is focussed into the iris of the eye, to perform iridectomy.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein the step of tracking eye movements in X and Y directions comprises tracking the limbus of the eye.

43. The method of claim 41, further including determining surface shapes of the eye automatically using an ocular topographic mapping means connected to the optical path means and displaying such shapes and data regarding such shapes on the video monitor.

44. The method of claim 25, wherein the laser beam is focussed into the sclera of the eye, to perform sclerectomy.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the step of tracking eye movements in X and Y directions comprises tracking the limbus of the eye.

46. The method of claim 25, including focussing the laser beam onto Schlemm's canal of the eye, to perform trabeculoplasty.

47. The method of claim 24 wherein the laser beam is focused onto the retina of the eye to treat retinal membranes or to perform photocoagulation to correct or prevent macular degeneration or to perform pan-retinal photocoagulation.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the laser beam has a pulse repetition rate of at least about 200 pps, each of the laser pulses having less than about two millijoules energy per pulse in a near-diffraction limited beam, i.e. a beam having energy of about 1.5 to 2.5 times diffraction limit energy.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the laser has a wavelength between about 450 and 650 nanometers.

50. The method of claim 22, further including tracking the depth of the eye's feature in a broader range of depth than the Z tracking means with a parallax depth ranging means, the parallax depth ranging means being connected to the microprocessor means, and using the parallax depth ranging means to assist in focussing the treatment beam to structure below the transparent cornea.

51. The method of claim 22, including maintaining essentially constant distance between the front lens element and the targeted eye tissue using the Z-tracking means.

52. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of tracking eye movements in X and Y directions comprises tracking the limbus of the eye.

53. The method of claim 22, further including determining surface shapes of the eye automatically using an ocular topographic mapping means connected to the optical path means and displaying such shapes and data regarding such shapes on the video monitor.

54. The method of claim 53, including determining topographical shapes of at least the epithelium and the endothelium of the cornea, as well as the thickness of the cornea between the epithelium and the endothelium.

55. The method of claim 53, including displaying on the video monitor a contour elevation map of a surface of the eye, in different selectable perspectives, using the ocular topographical mapping means in cooperation with the microprocessor.

56. The method of claim 55, further including displaying on the monitor relevant numerical diagnostic data pertaining to shapes of surfaces of the eye, using topographic mapping means and the microprocessor.

57. The method of claim 55, further including, under the control of the surgeon, superimposing a pattern of proposed surgery on the video image of the contour elevation map on the video monitor.

58. The method of claim 22, including automatically displaying an indicated laser aim point on the live video image, superimposed on the surgery site in the patient's eye tissue on the video monitor, using the microprocessor and the video imaging means.

59. The method of claim 58, further including automatically displaying on the video monitor a depth or Z position of the laser aiming point in the patient's eye tissue.

60, The method of claim 22, wherein the ophthalmic surgery site is the patient's cornea, the desired pattern^" of surgery being a pattern of corneal refractive surgery.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the laser beam is focussed below the anterior surface of the cornea to make a desired pattern of incisions to effect optical correction of deficiencies by creating a precise lesion within the stroma.

62. A method for modifying ocular tissue to correct deficiencies of the eye using a laser beam, comprising: generating a pulsed laser beam, having a pulse repetition rate of at least about 200 pulses per second, each of the laser pulses having less than about two millijoules energy per pulse in a near-diffraction-limited beam, each pulse having a duration between about one to twenty nanoseconds, and focusing the pulse laser beam and steering the beam so as to form a desired series of lesions in the ocular tissue, to carry out the desired pattern of surgery.

63. The method of claim 62, wherein the laser beam is focussed below the anterior surface of the cornea to make incisions to effect optical corrections of deficiencies of the eye, by creating a precise lesion of a desired size and shape within the stroma.

64. The method of claim 62, wherein the wavelength of the laser beam is in a range which for reasonably good transmission through the cornea, i.e. between about 450 and 900 nanometers.

65. The method of claim 62, wherein the wavelength of the laser beam is approximately 532 nanometers.

66. The method of claim 62, wherein the laser beam is focused into the lens of the eye for modification to effect precise lesions for the prevention of presbyopia.

67. The method of claim 62, wherein the laser beam has a repetition rate of over 1000 pps and is focused onto the lens of the eye, the pattern of surgery being such as to remove cataracts from the lens.

68. A method for tracking an eye of a living patient «.n X-Y directions during a diagnostic or laser surgical procedure on the eye, to stabilize motion of the eye, comprising: illuminating a region of the eye, including a portion of the limbus, at the outer rim of the iris, providing optics for receiving reflected light from said region of the eye and for focussing an image of said region on a photodetector means, with the photodetector means, detecting a pattern of contrast in the image of said region, at the limbus and including portions of the iris and the sclera on either side of the limbus, as a nominal position of the limbus relative to the photodetector means, during the course of the diagnostic or surgical procedure, repeatedly reviewing and analyzing the received image and tracing changes in the received pattern of contrast to motions of the limbus as the image of the limbus shifts relative to the photodetection means, to thus determine a new position of the limbus, and shifting the optics to aim at the determined new position of the limbus, to thereby again read a detected pattern with the photodetector means, similar to the pattern for the nominal position.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the illuminating step comprises illuminating said region with deep red or infrared light, to enable detection of said pattern of contrast even if the patient's iris is of such color and density as to exhibit low contrast with the sclera under ambient lighting, and to reduce the potential of light toxicity to the eye.

70. The method of claim 68, as part of an automated laser surgical procedure using a pulsed laser beam, and wherein the reviewing and analyzing steps, the tracing and shifting steps are carried out faster than the pulse repetition rate of the laser, and including preventing the laser from firing, within one to two pulses, if the limbus is not tracked and the optics shifted just prior to the time a pulse is to be fired.

71. The method of claim 68, wherein the detecting, reviewing and analyzing and tracing steps are carried out using a quadrant detector as said photodetector means, in combination with a microprocessor.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein the image of said region is focussed onto the quadrant detector such that, at the nominal position of the limbus relative to the quadrant detector, a known pattern of light/dark values exists among the four quadrants of the quadrant detector, and wherein the quadrant detector and microprocessor means determine the direction and length of shift of the patient's eye, for accurate shifting of the optics, by the change in relative values of light/dark among the quadrants.

73. The method of claim 72, including using two quadrant detectors, one at each side of the limbus, to attain additional assurance regarding the direction and magnitude of changes of position of the eye.

74. The method of claim 68, wherein the detecting, reviewing and analyzing and tracing steps are carried out using a position sensor in combination with the microprocessor.

75. A tracking system for tracking an eye of a living patient in X-Y directions during a diagnostic or laser surgical procedure on the eye, to stabilize motion of the eye, comprising: illuminating means for illuminating a region of the eye, including a portion of the limbus, at the outer rim of the iris, a photodetector means for detecting levels of light and contrast, optical means for receiving reflected light from said region of the eye and for focussing an image of said region on the photodetector means, means associated with the photodetector means and including microprocessor means, for detecting a pattern of contrast in the image of said region, at the limbus and including portions of the iris and the sclera on either side of the limbus, as a nominal position of the limbus relative to the photodetector means, means associated with the microprocessor means for automatically and repeatedly reviewing and analyzing the received image during the course of the diagnostic or surgical procedure, and for tracing changes in the received pattern of contrast to motions of the limbus as the image of the limbus shifts relative to the photodetection means, to thus determine a new position of the limbus, and means for shifting the optical means to aim at the determined new position of the limbus, to thereby again read a detected pattern with the photodetector means similar to the pattern for the nominal position.

76. The system of claim 75, as part of an automated laser surgical system using a pulsed laser beam, and wherein the means for reviewing and analyzing, for tracing and for shifting include means for acting faster than the pulse repetition rate of the laser, and including safety interlock means for preventing the laser from firing, within one to two pulses, if the limbus is not tracked and the optics shifted just prior to the time a pulse is to be fired.

77. The system of claim 75, including a quadrant detector in combination with the microprocessor means, serving as said photodetector means and said means for detecting, reviewing, analyzing and tracing.

78. The method of claim 77, including means for focussing the image of said region onto the quadrant detector such that, at the nominal position of the limbus relative to the quadrant detector, a known pattern of light/dark values exists among the four quadrants of the quadrant detector, and wherein the quadrant detector and microprocessor means determine the direction and length of shift of the patient's eye, for accurate shifting of the optical means, by the change in relative values of light/dark among the quadrants.

79. The system of claim 78, including two quadrant detectors, one receiving light from each side of the limbus, to attain additional assurance regarding the direction and magnitude of changes of position of the eye.

80. The system of claim 75, including a position sensor in combination with the microprocessor serving as said photodetector means and said means for detecting, reviewing, analyzing and tracing.

81. A laser workstation for precision laser interventions on a work site target, for carrying out a precision operation, comprising: laser means for generating a short pulse laser beam capable of effecting a desired type of intervention on the work site so as to effect the desired operation by sequences of pulses traversing througl- a path on o in he work site, user interface means including control means for enabling a user to select and initiate a pattern of interventions at the work site, a laser beam delivery system including

(a) optical path means for receiving the short pulse laser beam and for redirecting and focussing the beam as desired toward a work site target including a front lens element from which the beam exits the optical path means toward the worJ site,

(b) beam steering means connected to the optical path means for controlling the position at which the beam is pointed in X-Y directions, (c) beam focussing means connected to the optical path means for controlling the depth at which the laser beam is focussed, (d) template means under the control of the user for generating and implementing a template or path of successive laser interventions across the work site as overlaid on magnified video images of the work site displayed on the video monitor, and for automatically carrying out the template-controlled operation without active participation by the user during the operation, microprocessor means connected to the tracking means for automatically shifting the optical path means as the feature of the work site is tracked through X-Y and Z movements, so as to change the aim and focus of the laser beam when necessary to follow such movements of the feature, and interrupt means associated with the microprocessor means for interrupting delivery of the laser beam to the patient when it is determined via the microprocessor means that the tracking means has lost the feature being tracked.

82. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the template means includes means for enabling selection of a template from a library of stored preprogrammed templates, as said means for generating a template.

83. A laser workstation according to claim 81, further including depth or Z-tracking means with means for positioning and maintaining essentially constant distance between the front lens element and the feature of the workpiece.

84. A laser workstation according to claim 83, wherein the means for positioning and maintaining has a resolution within one micron.

85. A laser workstation according to claim 81, further including tracking means for tracking movements of the work site during the progress of the operation, including X-Y tracking means for tracking a feature of the worksite in X and Y directions.

86. A laser workstation according to claim 81, further including means for displaying on the video monitor a depth or Z position of the laser aiming point in the worksite target.

87. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the high resolution video imaging means is coaxial with the laser beam through the front lens element of the optical path means and includes zooming means for enabling selectable variable magnification of the video image on the video monitor.

88. A laser workstation according to claim 87, wherein the zooming means includes means for providing variable magnification of the worksite target up to 250 times.

89. A laser workstation according to claim 88, wherein the resolution of the high resolution video imaging, means is at least within five microns.

90. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the template means includes means for converting a template pattern into a sequence of automatic motion instructions to direct a laser beam to focus sequentially on a number of points in three-dimensional space which will, in turn, replicate the designated template pattern onto the work site.

91. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein x.he laser means generates a beam of visible laser light.

92. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a wavelength of about 532 nanometers.

93. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a.wavelength in the ultraviolet range.

94. A laser workstation according to claim 93, wherein the laser means generates a beam having a wavelength of about 177 nanometers.

95. A laser workstation according to claim 93, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a wavelength of about 215 nanometers.

96. A laser workstation according to claim 93, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a wavelength of about 266 nanometers.

97. A laser workstation according to claim 93, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a wavelength of about 355 nanometers.

98. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a wavelength and sufficient power density and fluence to effect photoablation on the exterior surface of the work site.

99. A laser workstation according to claim 81, wherein the laser means generates a laser beam having a wavelength and sufficient power density and fluence to effect photodisruption with each pulse within the work site, under a transparent outer surface of the work site.

100. A laser workstation according to claim 81, further including parallax depth ranging means connected into the optical path means, for tracking the depth of the work site in a broader range of depth than the Z-tracking means, the parallax depth ranging means being connected to the microprocessor means and being effective to assist in focusing the treatment beam to structure below a transparent outer surface of the work site.