The Laser Center At The Eye Clinic Of Texas Secures Newest Laser For The LASIK Procedure

Laser uses NASA technology to compensate for rapid eye movements

League City, Texas - The doctors at The Laser Center at the Eye Clinic of Texas recently acquired the most advanced laser vision correction system designed for laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis, or the LASIK procedure. The first of its kind to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Summit Autonomous LADARVision System incorporates a small spot shaping beam with an eye tracking system that maintains accurate placement of the laser beam during surgery.

The LADARVision System uses narrow beam tracking technology derived from NASA's Star Wars Strategic Defense Initiative. "It sculpts the cornea by delivering hundreds to thousands of excimer laser pulses to the eye in a complex pattern of spatially overlapping spots," said George Pettit, M.D., Ph.D., vice president for research at Summit Autonomous. The system tracks the position of the eye during surgery at a rate of 4,000 times per second and can compensate for eye movement up to 300 times per second.

"It is the first FDA-approved excimer laser system to track every movement of the eye," said Bernard Milstein, M.D., ophthalmologist and founder of The Laser Center at the Eye Clinic of Texas. "Other laser systems rely on the patient focusing on a point of light to ensure that the eye remains still during surgery."

Using a cool-beamed excimer laser and an automated microkeratome, the LASIK procedure involves folding back a portion of the top section of the cornea and focusing the laser directly onto the cornea for reshaping. The LADARVision system has a new feature that protects the corneal flap created during the LASIK procedure. No other laser vision correction system offers this advanced feature.

"LASIK usually significantly improves vision within hours," said Daniel Gold, M.D., ophthalmologist at The Laser Center at The Eye Clinic of Texas. "The LADARVision system is extremely effective and efficient, allowing us to deliver even more outstanding results for our LASIK patients."

Currently, the LADARVision system is available to treat myopia, or nearsightedness. The system is awaiting FDA approval to broaden the scope of treatment to include hyperopia, or farsightedness, and hyperopic astigmatism.

Milstein and Gold predict the LADARVision system will make the popularity in LASIK laser vision correction soar to even greater heights. Already, over one million people in America have undergone the procedure, with an additional 1.5 million estimated to have the procedure done by the end of 2000.

"It is very fitting that there is an autonomous laser in the Clear Lake area, particularly in view of the fact that the tracking technology was developed by NASA," said Jim Reinhartsen, president of the Clear Lake Area Economic Development Foundation. "After having the surgery myself, I can truly see without my glasses."

The doctors at The Laser Center at the Eye Clinic of Texas were the first ophthalmologists in Texas to perform excimer laser vision correction surgery in 1991. Furthermore, their clinic was one of 10 clinics in the U.S. selected to participate in the initial clinical trials of a specific type of laser vision correction known as Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK). The results of that study helped establish the safety and effectiveness of this new, internationally available procedure.

The Laser Center at the Eye Clinic of Texas is located at 1100 Gulf Freeway, Ste. 114 in League City. For more information in scheduling a free pre-surgery consultation, call 281-332-3937.

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