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EP0467775A1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Lens capsule laser cutting apparatus

Assignee: Topcon Corp
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Filing: 1991-07-16
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2011-07-16
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Abstract

Abstract A lens capsule laser apparatus adapted for use in cutting out a lens capsule of patient's eye. The lens capsule cutting apparatus comprises a means (11) for generating a laser beam, a means (10) for projecting the laser beam onto the lens capsule for cutting said capsule. The projecting means (10) comprises a converging optical means (17) to converge the laser beam, and an axicon optical means (18) for projecting the converged beam (32) in a ring-like shape onto the capsule (FR) and varying the diameter of the beam (32). The power density of the converged laser beam on said capsule (FR) being no less than 10⁸W/cm².

Inventors

  • 👤 Katsuhiko Kobayashi

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-23 11:15
CPC Classifications
A; A61; A61F; A61F9/00; A61F9/007; A61F9/008; A61F9/00825; A61B; A61B17/00; A61B17/32; A61B17/3205; A61B17/32053; A61F2009/00885; A61F2009/00887; A61F2009/00889

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 15
Claim 1
Independent Claim 83 words
(1) A lens capsule cutting apparatus comprising: a means for generating a laser beam; a means for projecting the laser beam onto a lens capsule for cutting said capsule; said projecting means including a converging optical means to converge the laser beam and an axicon optical means for projecting the converged beam in a ring-like shape onto said capsule and varying the diameter of the beam; and the power density of the converged laser beam on said capsule being no less than 10⁸W/cm².
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 20 words
(2) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said axicon optical means is an axicon lens.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 32 words
(3) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said axicon optical means is so constructed that it can be moved along the optical path of said projecting means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 56 words
(4) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 3 wherein said projecting means further comprises a beam expander to enlarge the radius of the laser beam emerging from said generating means, and a condensing optical means to converge the laser beam from said beam expander through said axicon optical means onto said lens capsule.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 81 words
(5) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 3 wherein said projecting means further comprises a beam expander to enlarge the radius of the laser beam, an image forming optical means to form an intermediate image of said laser beam from said beam expander at an intermediate point situated before said axicon optical means, and a focusing optical means situated after said axicon optical means to converge said laser beam from said axicon optical means onto said lens capsule.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 21 words
(6) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said generating means comprises a pulse laser beam generator.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 22 words
(7) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 6 wherein said generating means comprises an infrared pulse laser beam generator.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 28 words
(8) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 7 wherein the wavelength of the beam generated by said infrared pulse beam generator is approximately 1.06 µm.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 43 words
(9) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 4 further comprising an aiming means to project a visible ring-like laser beam such that it is substantially coincident with the laser beam projected by said axicon optical means on the lens capsule.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 30 words
(10) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 9 wherein the optical path of said aiming means overlaps with part of the optical path of said projecting means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 56 words
(11) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 10 wherein said aiming means comprises a visible laser beam source and a mirror which reflects the visible laser beam while allowing the laser beam from said generating means to pass therethrough, said mirror being positioned obliquely between said beam expander means and said focusing means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 21 words
(12) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 8 wherein said generating means is a Nd:YAG laser optical source.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 21 words
(13) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 6 wherein said generating means is a Dye laser optical source.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 22 words
(14) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in Claim 4 wherein said beam expanding means comprises a variable diverging beam expander.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 29 words
(15) A lens capsule cutting apparatus as defined in any of Claim 1 wherein said lens capsule onto which said laser beam is projected is an anterior lens capsule.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3348547A Cited
US3971382A Cited
FR2458272A2 Cited
WO1987005794A1 Cited
US4887592A Cited
EP0402250A2 Cited

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