Wavefront Laser Eye Surgery
Wavefront laser eye surgery aims
to achieve better vision than standard laser treatment or
glasses. After treatment, 99% of our Wavefront patients achieve
standard driving vision, while 89% enjoy 20:20 vision without
glasses and 35% benefit from better quality vision than with their
glasses before treatment. Wavefront is available to both
LASIK and
LASEK patients.
What is Wavefront?
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Also known as Custom LASIK or
Custom Wavefront LASIK, Wavefront guided treatment replaces 'the
one treatment fits all' with a procedure that is tailored
to the precise optics of the eye. Whilst standard laser eye
treatment (without Wavefront guidance) gives very high quality
results for the majority of patients, many peoples' eyes are not
'standard'.
Everybody who comes to Optimax has their eyes measured, not just
for prescription strength, but to assess their optical performance
in terms of quality of vision when the prescription is in
place.
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Glasses lenses are standard shapes
and their optical performance is made to fit the average population
as a whole, whilst the laser improves individual physical and
optical characteristics precisely for each eye. Patients who are
suitable for Wavefront treatment can
achieve better results than wearing glasses or contact lenses
can.
Wavefront and Night Time Vision
Wavefront is a big advantage
to those with large pupils and poor night time vision. The optical
performance of the eye is measured at each and every place on the
cornea, including the part which is used when the pupil is large.
Laser treatment is then programmed to each tiny part of the corneal
surface so that every area of the cornea gets the optimised dosage.
Contrast sensitivity in low lighting levels is increased and the
risk of developing night time halos and glare is greatly
decreased.
Wavefront Results
About half of patients should benefit significantly with
sharper vision from Wavefront treatment. Our
experienced
doctors will cover this in detail during the
consultation.
Our
published statistics
are based on 7,000 standard treatments during 2004 and 2005. These
will see substantial improvement when Wavefront becomes the norm
for suitable patients, both in the number who achieve 20:20 without
glasses and safety as measured by change in visual sharpness.
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We use the most advanced
diagnostic machine available in the marketplace - the Nidek OPD
(Optical Path Difference) device.
The Nidek OPD measures the
progress of 8,000 waves of light as they pass through different
parts of the eye and is the best available technology in its field
in the world.
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When the light rays are
reflected back from the eye into the Nidek OPD, it digitally
analyses the differences in the wave paths to what they should be
for perfect sight.
These 8,000 data points are used to
program the laser to correct each part of the eye (corneal
surface). The aim is to shape each tiny section of the cornea to
the correct focusing power, resulting in the sum total of the
cornea focusing to be perfect and to be as near distortion free as
is possible (click image to enlarge).
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Iris recognition
The Nidek OPD is very precise in
locking onto the eye to be able to digitally map tiny sections of
the cornea and then instruct the laser to target the same area to
remove any tiny imperfections. In this way the laser is accurately
given instructions to laser the intended area on the cornea.
High Speed Tracking
Optimax uses the fastest tracker
of any make of laser used in eye treatment. During treatment the
tracker on the laser videos the image of the iris 200 times per
second (200 htz) and matches it to the data it is given from the
Nidek OPD. If you move your eye during treatment the laser follows
it precisely.
Tissue Sparing
A benefit of Wavefront is that only precise amounts of tissue
are removed from the parts of the cornea that need it. By getting
treatment dosage closer to the actual need of each part of the
cornea, less tissue is removed. This improves long term safety by
maintaining the maximum structural strength of the eye following
treatment.
Optimised and Customised Wavefront (OATZ/CATZ)
OATZ (Optimised Aspheric
Treatment Zone - Aspheric) means ‘not spherical/round’.
Optimised Wavefront is for those with normal corneal surfaces
but whose general shape of the eye is not optically round enough
for perfect focusing.
CATZ means Customised Aspheric
Treatment Zone. Customised Wavefront is used for patients whose
eyes have undulations on the corneal surface that require
individual removal and who will benefit from Aspheric
Treatment.
All other Wavefront treatment
details are the same as for LASIK and LASEK laser eye surgery.
Intralase Femtosecond Laser
This new all-laser Intralase
Femtosecond Laser is the
gold
standard, state of the art laser eye surgery, giving
Optimax
patients the opportunity of having the best available
treatment in the world.
Optimax leads with
Intralase laser technology; with
18 lasers we were the
first company to offer this technology nationwide. The major
benefit is that all suitable prescriptions can be treated with
bladeless technology, eliminating potential complications and
distortions associated with cutting the flap with a blade. In
addition, more patients achieve 20:20 vision or better and fewer
patients lose sharpness of vision. Safety is improved which gives
increased confidence to both the doctor and patient, thereby
reducing stress and anxiety. Furthermore both mechanical breakdown
and human error are also reduced.
Intralase Femtosecond and Wavefront (Combined)
Wavefront and
Intralase Femtosecond combined treatment aims to
improve the sharpness of vision over and above what can be achieved
with glasses. Until now Wavefront has been limited in its ability
to achieve the best possible outcome because of the imperfections
made by the blade subsequent to the measurement of the eye. Because
Intralase Femtosecond lasers do not induce
these imperfections, Wavefront can now treat everything it measures
resulting in the best possible treatment and probability of
gaining sharpness of vision.