METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR REFRACTIVE VISION CORRECTION

摘要

A water jet microkeratome (14) for use in cutting a lenticular flap in a cornea (12), comprises a scleral chuck (10) for holding the eye as the flap is being cut, a water jet nozzle, and a temperature (16) for applanating the cornea. A channel (19) corresponding to a peripheral edge region of the flap is formed between the template (16) and a cylinder (17) which acts as a vacuum guard, and a vacuum is applied to the channel to pull the corneal tissue in the peripheral edge region into the channel (19). This reduces the compression in the corneal tissue at the edge of the flap to be cut. The water jet is scanned at high speed a predetermined distance beneath the template to cut the flap with negligable erosion at the edge or boundary of the flap.