Why we have chosen the VISX STAR S4 Excimer Laser System
here at InSight Lasik and Refractive Group:
By Dan Zimmer
· The STAR 4 variable beam technology allows our
surgeon to treat patients with different laser beam sizes and shapes that allow
us to match each patient’s individual visual needs.
·
The VISX Exclusive SmartBeamTM technology
adjusts beam size according to treatment, which helps us to minimize the amount
of corneal tissue that needs to be removed.
·
With ActiveTrakTM 3-D eye-tracking
technology, the laser detects and compensated for small eye movements by
guiding the laser beam to keep it centered precisely over the treatment area.
·
VISX’s exclusive Active TrakTM is the
only system that allows surgeons to track eye movements in all three
dimensions. With this technology, our
surgeon is able keep the beam centered on the eye correctly at all times, which
helps to ensure the most precise results.
·
Unlike other lasers with eye-tracking
technology, ActiveTrak does not require pupil dilation, which leads to even
faster recovery time.
·
VISX laser systems produce and extremely smooth
surface on the cornea. Smoother
ablations, or the sites where tissue is removed, promote faster healing and
better visual outcomes.
·
VISX laser systems achieve an optical zone that
may result in reduced problems with night vision.
·
VISX laser systems require a shorter procedure
time than many lasers, which enhances patient comfort and may reduce the risk
of postoperative complications.
Why Choose the VISX Star S4 IR?
Today’s laser vision correction treatments effortlessly free
people from their dependence on glasses and contact lenses. The excimer lasers used to create this modern
day miracle are some of the most sophisticated pieces of medical technology
ever invented.
With over 10 million laser vision correction procedures
having been performed worldwide, there is a strong competition amongst excimer
laser manufacturers to establish a market position for their devices so as to
maximize device sales and revenues from per procedure royalties. Such competition has inspired unprecedented
advancement in excimer laser technology and numerous device enhancements that
have served to improve procedure outcomes.
Unlike any other excimer laser manufacturer, VISX has been
involved in the development of laser vision correction technology from the
beginning. In many respects, it can be
stated that VISX “invented” laser vision correction. Many of its founders conceived of, enhanced,
or patented the core concepts of laser vision correction. The success of VISX, when compared to all
other competing laser platforms, has been primarily founded upon an
unparalleled commitment and investment in research and development efforts in
the field of Laser Vision Correction technology. Today these efforts are represented by their
achievement of the capacity for delivering the most sophisticated Custom
Wavefront procedures in the world.
Their industry and scientific accomplishments include:
·
The widest FDA approval of any laser system
worldwide providing superior surgical options for more patients than any other
laser platform
·
The highest level of resolution of wavefront
refractive error due to the use of Fourier algorithms
·
Active 3-D eye tracking compensates for
intraoperative eye movement in all dimensions.
No other platform has these tracking capabilities
·
Iris Registration (IR) – the only laser platform
that centers and aligns the treatment while compensating for eye cyclorotation
and physiologic pupil migration. VISX
has the first and only fully FDA-approved, fully automated, non-contact method
of aligning of the correct customized treatment to the corneal site
·
The only system that compensates for pupil
migration during physiologic pupil dilation resulting in more accurate laser
pulse placement
·
Variable Spot Scanning (VSS): The only platform
that delivers variable beam sizes from as small as 0.65 mm up to 6.5 mm scanned
over the treatment area thereby conserving tissue, optimizing treatment times,
reducing corneal drying intra-operatively, and reducing adverse thermal load to
the delicate corneal tissue
·
Variable Repetition Rate (VRR): VRR delivers
treatment at varying repetition rates, optimizing treatment time, and reducing
the adverse effects of thermal loading of the delicate corneal tissue
·
Conservative tissue removal, which is surgeon
selectable leading to good residual corneal strength and less risk for corneal
ectasia/weakening
·
Rate of patients needing surgical re-treatment
for residual refractive error is one of the lowest in the industry
·
The VISX Star is the first choice for refractive
surgeons. There are more VISX systems
used in the United States than all other competing laser platforms
combined. Such market dominance
continues to increase as AMO-VISX continues to introduce additional
advancements and technical innovations.
Wavefront Guided
CustomVue: The CustomVue procedure from VISX tailors a distinct correction
for each individual – in fact, each treatment is “designed” by the unique
characteristics of the individuals’ eyes.
WaveScan technology captures unique imperfections in each individual’s
vision that could not have been measured before. The new level of measurement provides
twenty-five times more precision than measurements using standard methods for
glasses and contact lenses. WaveScan
technology produces a detailed map of the eye – much like a fingerprint, no two
are alike, and it translates this information into a set of CustomVue treatment
instructions for the laser. WaveScan
transfers these digital treatment instructions to the laser, providing a new
level of precision and accuracy, which helps us to provide our patients with
the best correction possible.
The WaveScan WaveFront System is an ophthalmic diagnostic
instrument that measures the refractive error and wavefront aberrations of the
human eye through the use of a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor. We use these measurements to determine
regular (sphero-cylindrical) refractive errors and irregularities (aberrations)
that cause decreases or blurry vision in the human eye. The
WaveScan software uses the information to create a custom tailored correction
map for the unique characteristics of each individual eye.
WaveScan technology was originally developed for use in
high-powered telescopes to reduce distortions when viewing distant objects in
space. This technology has been applied
to laser vision correction, measuring imperfections in the eye never before measured
using standard methods for glasses and contact lenses. WaveScan-based digital technology identifies
and measures eye imperfections twenty-five times more precisely than standard
methods. The powerful WaveScan software
translates the information into a set of CustomVue treatment instructions for
the laser. The digital treatment
instructions that are created are then transferred to the laser, driving a new
level of precision and accuracy.
Until now, optometrists were forced to practice
one-size-fits-all vision. An
off-the-shelf lens can correct your vision fairly well, but it is not uniquely
tailored to your fingerprint of vision.
Now, with the WaveScan technology that we utilize, our surgeon can
custom tailor a correction for your own unique vision.
The WaveSvan WaveFront System provides:
·
Fourier-based wavefront algorithms:
o Fourier
delivers the highest resolution available for the wavefront error
o Uses
more data points to derive the optimal shape
o Uses
all data from any shape of pupil
o Accurately
reconstructs all peripheral data
o Captures
and treats higher and lower order aberrations up to 7 mm diameter pupil
·
Acuity Maps®: Chart the optical aberrations of
the eye
·
Difference Maps: Track the changes of the eye
for pre-op and post-op comparisons
·
Point Spread Function (PSF): Demonstrates how a
patient would see a point source of light
Beyond Glasses and
Contact Lenses: Glasses and contacts
are limited in their ability to correct unique imperfections in each
individual’s vision. In fact, thousands
of individuals have the exact same prescription. With the CustomVue procedure, no two
“prescriptions” are identical. The
precise level of measurement and treatment that this technology helps us to
provide can enable individuals to achieve the full potential of their vision.
Clinical Study
Results:
VISX’s FDA clinical study results were remarkable. Among other notable statistics:
·
At one year after the VISX CustomVue Procedure*:
o 100%
of the clinical study participants could pass a driving test without glasses or
contacts
o 98%
of the clinical study participants could see 20/20 or better without glasses or
contacts
o 70%
of the clinical study participants could see 20/16 or better without glasses or
contacts
o Four
times as many clinical study participants were very satisfied with their night
vision after the VISX CustomVue procedure, compared to their night vision with
glasses or contacts before the operation
* FDA clinical results for Low to Moderate Myopia, up to
-6.0 D MRSE with or without astigmatism up to -3.0 DC
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