| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Dr. Q |
Posted - 11 February 2004 : 22:38:40
The traditional approach for measuring a patient’s eyes for laser vision correction is to use the phoropter. This is the instrument that you look through and answer the seemingly endless series of questions “Which is better, one or two?” that allow us to determine your eyeglass prescription. These numbers are then entered into the laser as the basis for your treatment.
With the new wavefront technology, a computer-assisted laser directly scans your eyes for the correction you need. When compared to the phoropter method, wavefront readings are more precise, they require no subjective response from you, and they include information on subtle forms of distortion that are unique to your eyes. For this reason, wavefront readings are sometimes referred to as “fingerprints of your vision”. When wavefront data is used to program the laser, the result is a “wavefront-guided” or “custom” treatment.
Three companies make equipment that is FDA-approved for custom treatments: VISX, Alcon and Bausch and Lomb. I have used the VISX CustomVue system since its FDA approval in May of 2003 and have been quite pleased with the results. Since treatments based on the traditional phoropter method are already quite good, there is not a night and day difference between traditional and CustomVue treatments, but in general terms, CustomVue is likely to produce sharper vision and it decreases the likelihood of night vision problems such as glare and halos.
The Alcon CustomCornea platform is another wavefront system that you may hear about. It utilizes the company’s LadarVision laser. The Alcon platform is a capable system, but it is not FDA approved for treating many patients with astigmatism. The Bausch and Lomb system is not widely used in the United States.
For LASIK in Arizona, visit http://www.halevision.com |
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