Self-focusing and spherical aberrations in corneal tissue during photodisruption by femtosecond laser

Valeria Nuzzo; Michèle Savoldelli; Jean-Marc Legeais; Karsten Plamann

doi:10.1117/1.3455507

1 May 2010 Self-focusing and spherical aberrations in corneal tissue during photodisruption by femtosecond laser

Valeria Nuzzo, Michèle Savoldelli, Jean-Marc Legeais, Karsten Plamann

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Biomedical Optics, Vol. 15, Issue 3, 038003 (May 2010). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3455507

Abstract

The use of ultrashort pulse lasers is current in refractive surgery and has recently been extended to corneal grafting (keratoplasty). When performing keratoplasty, however, permanent degradation of the optical properties of the patient's cornea compromises the penetration depth of the laser and the quality of the incisions, therefore causing unwanted secondary effects. Additionally, corneal grafting needs considerably higher penetration depths than refractive surgery. Little data are available about the interaction processes of the femtosecond pulses in the volume of pathological corneas-i.e., in the presence of spherical aberrations and optical scattering. We investigate the influence of the focusing numerical aperture on the laser-tissue interaction. We point out that at low numerical apertures (NAs), tissue damage is produced below and above the focal region. We attribute this phenomenon to nonlinear self-focusing effects. On the other hand, at high NAs, spherical aberrations become significant when focusing at high depths for posterior surgeries, which also limit the cutting efficiency. As high NAs are advisable for reducing unwanted nonlinear effects and ensure accurate cutting, particular attention should be paid to aberration management when developing clinical femtosecond lasers.

©(2010) Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

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Valeria Nuzzo, Michèle Savoldelli, Jean-Marc Legeais, and Karsten Plamann "Self-focusing and spherical aberrations in corneal tissue during photodisruption by femtosecond laser," Journal of Biomedical Optics 15(3), 038003 (1 May 2010). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.3455507

Published: 1 May 2010

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KEYWORDS

Monochromatic aberrations

Cornea

Laser tissue interaction

Femtosecond phenomena

Tissue optics

Laser cutting

Tissues

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