SURGICAL PROCEDURES USING INSTRUMENT TO BOUNDARY SPACING INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM REAL-TIME DIAGNOSTIC SCAN DATA

摘要

Specific embodiments of the invention are directed to improved surgical procedures involving the use of processed non-visual three-dimensional data (i.e. diagnostic scan data) to provide a surgeon with additional guidance (i.e. more than that generally obtained from visual observation of the working area) concerning the distance separating a working end of a surgical instrument and the posterior portion of a target tissue. Separation information may be used to aid the surgeon in minimizing the risk of unintended penetration of adjacent tissue with the working end of the instrument. Some embodiments provide for the visual and/or auditory conveyance of distance information to the surgeon. Additional embodiments provide for overlaying visual representations of selected three-dimensional structure information (e.g. depths of troughs cut into the lens) with the real surface feature images viewed by the surgeon.

主权项

1. A method for an improved phacoemulsification procedure, comprising:
providing a phacoemulsification instrument including a distal working end configured to be inserted through an opening in the anterior region of an eye's lens capsule; processing diagnostic scan data for at least a portion of the lens capsule and the working end of the phacoemulsification instrument; providing a signal corresponding to a calculated separation distance information from an analysis of the diagnostic scan data and the distal working end of the phacoemulsification instrument during the course of the phacoemulsification procedure, wherein during the course of the phacoemulsification procedure, the diagnostic scan data is undated to provide the calculated separation signal in real time.