Optical ophthalmic treatment apparatus

Claim 1

An ophthalmic treatment apparatus comprising: a binocular observation optical system having right and left observation optical paths for observing an eye to be operated upon through use of a stereo microscope; a laser beam transmitting optical system to transmit a therapeutic laser beam onto the eye; said laser beam transmitting optical system having: a laser source for generating an ultraviolet therapeutic laser beam; an irradiation area confining member having an aperture which has a controllable diameter and through which the therapeutic laser beam is transmitted from said laser source; a projection lens for projecting an aperture image of the therapeutic laser beam transmitted from said irradiation area confining member as an aperture image onto an affected part of the eye to be operated on; a laser beam reflecting member disposed between the right observation optical path and the left observation optical path to reflect the therapeutic laser beam of said laser beam transmitting system so that the therapeutic laser beam is directed from the projecting lens along a laser beam axis coaxial with an optical axis of an objective lens in said observation optical path; said laser beam reflecting member being sufficiently small to be substantially non-obstructive to said right and left observation optical paths; and a condenser member disposed at a position in a path of the therapeutic laser beam upstream from said irradiation confining member yet close to said laser beam reflecting member, said condenser member reducing a diameter of luminous flux of the therapeutic laser beam and directing the therapeutic laser beam through said irradiation confining member for reflection from the laser beam reflection member to the eye, said condenser member sufficiently reducing a diameter of luminous flux of the therapeutic laser beam to enable said laser beam reflecting member to be sufficiently small as defined.