[Femtosecond laser: a micromachining system for corneal surgery].
BACKGROUND
The authors present the diode-pumped, all-solid state, neodymium:glass femtosecond laser from the Laboratory of Ocular Biotechnology, Hotel-Dieu Hospital.


METHODS
We worked with a 1,065-nm wavelength infrared laser. This laser is composed of an oscillator and amplification glass matrix mixed with neodymium. Its stretching and compression system is capable of producing pulses lasting a few hundred femtoseconds. The repetition rate is adjustable, ranging from 1 to 10 kHz, and can reach energies up to 60 microJ. The delivery system was set up on an optical table, with human corneal samples fixed to an anterior chamber system, which can be moved over the X-Y-Z axis by a computer-guided translation motor with micrometric precision. We analyzed the biological effects of laser impacts in human corneal tissue, obtained from the French Eye Bank.


RESULTS
The femtosecond laser provides automated corneal cutting with a high level of precision, which can be verified on the corneal surface regularity by scanning electron microscopy analysis. Silicon samples can also be cut and can be used for calibration testing of the laser.


CONCLUSIONS
The set-up composed of the femtosecond laser and the described delivery system enable precise corneal cutting and offer the opportunity to study its characteristics.
Donate
D
D
Laboratoire Biotechnologie et Oeil, Université Paris V, Faculté de Médecine Broussais/Hôtel Dieu, Association Claude Bernard, Paris, France.
Albert
O
O
Colliac
J-P
JP
Tubelis
P
P
Sabatier
P
P
Mourou
G
G
Burillon
C
C
Pouliquen
Y
Y
Legeais
J-M
JM
D002138:Calibration; D003315:Cornea / Q000601:surgery* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004867:Equipment Design; D005898:Glass; D006801:Humans; D007259:Infrared Rays; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D009354:Neodymium; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D013997:Time Factors
D009354:Neodymium; D012822:Silicon Dioxide