Modern applications for Femtosecond laser
Laser is a great blessing in the field of medical science. It is currently being used throughout the entire field of healthcare. Lasers make the procedure safe fast healing, more comfortable, and speedy recovery. Lasers can make a large portion of the procedure more minimally invasive, with the reduction of cutting and stitching.
Lasers play an important part in ophthalmology. Lasers have been utilized for cataract surgeries since the 70s. The first time it was utilized was to treat phacopuncture.3 In 1987. The Dr Peyman and Katoh then came across that it was the Erbium laser (Photoablation. 4).
After that, doctors utilized both of these techniques for ocular surgery. This ultimately led to the discovery by scientists of the latest method for FSL-assisted cataract surgery which is also known as FLACS. It is a highly precise method that combines precision with six sigma.
Femtosecond laser and the mechanisms of its action
It is the Femto Second Laser ( FLS) is carried out by tissue destruction using the use of a near-infrared scanner pulse with a focus of 3 micrometres with a precision of one micrometre. The targeted tissue is then vaporized through photo destruction, which occurs through a series of sequential steps.
The laser’s energy is focused and rises to its maximum, and plasma is produced. The plasma then expands and creates the shock wave, this causes the tissue to expand, causing bubble formation.
Then, the balloon expands gradually before it shrinks and splits the tissue that is targeted.
FSL performs better when it is at an infrared wavelength and transparent tissues don’t absorb the wavelength. Thus, the FLS procedure is the most appropriate procedure for cataracts in the anterior chamber with different depths since it has clear, optically clear space. Cornea isn’t able to absorb near-infrared wavelengths and these waves can disappear within 10 micrometres of the targeted tissue within the cornea.
Laser Cataract Surgery: This is the latest Ophthalmic use of the Femtosecond laser. Four companies are helping to pave the way for ophthalmology like OptiMedica Corporation introduced their Catalyst Precision Laser; LenAR introduced their LensAR the laser-based platform; Alcon Labs introduced the LenSX Laser platform and Bausch & Lomb launched the Invictus. These lenses are essential in cataract and corneal refractive procedures.
Treating tractional vitreous attachments In the future ultrashort laser pulses may be used instead of posterior vitrectomy for correcting the tractional attachments of the vitreous. Femtolaser aids surgeons to perform non-invasive surgeries since laser pulses make fewer incisions and have the highest accuracy. Laser surgery requires less energy as well as less acoustic shock wave and lesser thermal injury.
Recently, doctors have utilized adaptive optics to improve beam distribution, and it is a more effective method to reduce optical distortions.
reverses Presbyopia: It is another extremely effective use of the Femtosecond laser for Presbyopia that can be reversed by the flexibility of the crystal lens. The Femtosecond laser works by cutting a microincision within the lens without surgical slits being made in the eyes. These kinds of microchannels can minimize the friction between the lens and tissues as they slide along the planes.
Refractive index shaping low-density plasma may be generated by a femtosecond-length laser if its frequency is less than the threshold of optical breakdown. Low-density plasmas allow free electrons to interact with nearby tissues. Chemical reactions can change the refractive index for optical materials and this theory is employed for the transformation of a diffractive optical lens to crystallized lenses.
What are The Benefits of Femtosecond Lasers?
Alternative to Microketaome Blade
The Femtosecond lens has replaced the mechanical blade. Blade surgery has been used to perform LASIK procedures for several years, but it poses more risks to patients. The surgeon can treat thin, curved, or flat corneas. Lasik surgery is a risky procedure because it involves cutting and stitches that require a lengthy healing time. Femtosecond laser offers the most effective possibilities of surgery, with a lower risk. Femtosecond laser exerts only very little pressure on the eye and its precision eliminates the possibility of cut-offs that are not even or properly formed in cornea tissue.
Significantly reduced difficulties.
Flaps that are made using mechanical blades are typically connected to cornea-related issues like a flap that is detached or a free cap and the presence of buttons, sharp central islands or spots tiny wrinkles or folds in the eye or striae as well as infections. Femtosecond lasers have gained a lot of attention in eye surgery since it’s minimally invasive and can virtually eliminate extremely thick caps without having to make an incision. Additionally, it makes sure that the cuts are not irregular that cause injuries to the eye.
It is a major influence on improving patient safety as well as achieving the speed of the laser, which can transmit ultrashort optical impulses that are less than one picosecond. The process of creating the Lasik flap using the femtosecond laser only takes 10 seconds per eye. If patients spend a shorter time in front of the machine, they experience less trauma. Additionally, the femtosecond laser allows surgeons to make an inverse bevel cut creating the cornea flap rather than retracting it. When a flap of the cornea from surgery is involved, it decreases the time of manipulation and also reduces the chance of acquiring an infection.
Following these benefits, Femtosecond Laser cataract surgery has become so popular in India and UK. Surgeons choose Femto laser over any other process to deliver greater success.