Michigan Eyecare Institute

Michigan Eyecare Institute is now using first-of-its-kind laser eye surgery system

Patients who may be candidates for laser eye surgery now have access to the latest development in LASIK technology, as Michigan Eyecare Institute is now using the first-of-its-kind, wavefront-guided LADARVision® excimer laser system.

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration recently approved this new system for wavefront-guided laser eye surgery in the treatment of nearsightedness. With this new system, made up of the LADARVision® 4000 excimer laser system and the new LADARWave™ diagnostic device, surgeons can, for the first time, measure and treat visual disorders that previously could not even be detected.

Several types of imperfections, referred to as lower-and-higher-order aberrations, exist within the eye and can affect both a person's visual acuity and the quality of vision. To date, only lower- order aberrations, which include nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, could be measured and treated. However, lower-ordered aberrations do not account for all potential vision disorders. Higher-order aberrations can also have a significant impact on a person's quality of vision, and cannot be corrected with glasses, contacts or conventional LASIK. According to experts in the field of ophthalmology, higher-order aberrations are linked to visual disturbances such as glare and halos that may cause night vision problems and are sometimes associated with conventional LASIK surgery.

The LADARVision system is the first-and-only FDA approved eye surgery system that can measure both lower-and higher-order aberrations, and can actually be used to treat each patient's unique pattern of lower-and higher-order visual errors. This highly customized approach creates a new laser eye surgery procedure, called CUSTOMCORNEA®, that improves both visual acuity, which is measured against standard numerical outcomes such as 20/20, and the overall quality of vision, such as increased visual crispness and clarity. Visual acuity of 20/20, considered by most as the standard vision, has been traditionally measured by a letter chart, which does not provide for detection of many of the disorders that may affect vision.

"CUSTOMCORNEA® is a tremendous breakthrough in laser eye surgery that raises the bar in this field," says Dr. William Myers of the Michigan Eyecare Institute. "We're excited to be among the first in Michigan to offer this advanced LASIK technology to area residents."

In CUSTOMCORNEA clinical trials, nearly 80 percent of patients who underwent the new laser eye surgery procedure achieved 20/20 vision, but even more importantly, they reported a quality of vision superior to that achieved with conventional LASIK.

"Sometimes patients complain about vision quality problems, such as not being able to see in dim or low light. This is referred to as poor contrast sensitivity," explains Dr. Myers of the Michigan Eyecare Institute. "Prior to the advent of wavefront measurements, there wasn't anything we could do to measure or treat higher-order aberrations. With this technology breakthrough, we can now measure these disorders, show the patient what's going on in their eye, link that information to the laser, and actually correct higher-order aberrations that diminish contrast sensitivity. Wavefront technology enables the surgeon to improve overall vision quality better than in the past."

HOW IT WORKS

In order to create the customized map unique to each patient's eye, the LADARWave™ device transmits a safe ray of light into the patient's eye. The light is then reflected back off the retina, out through the pupil, and into the device, where the reflected wave of light is received and arranged into a unique pattern that captures the patient's lower- and higher-order aberrations. All of these visual irregularities are then displayed as a three-dimensional map, referred to as a wavefront map. This information is then electronically transferred to the LADARVision® 4000 excimer laser, and computer-matched to the eye's position, enabling the surgeon to customize the LASIK procedure to each patient's unique visual requirements. This is the only FDA-approved system that actually uses wavefront data to guide laser treatment.

To learn more visit www.ladarvision.com