System and method for indirectly determining weight on eye during laser ophthalmic surgery

A system for indirectly determining weight on eye, comprising:

• a measuring device operable to detect a detectable position of a component of a docking apparatus and generate data relating to the detectable position;
• a display;
• and
• a processor operable to:
• receive data from the measuring device relating to the detectable position;
• determine a relative distance between the detectable position of the component in relation to a neutral position of the eye;
• determine weight on eye resulting from contact between the docking apparatus and the eye by reference to sensed force-distance reference data;
• generate a pictorial representation of the weight on the in eye in relation to the detectable position;
• and
• transmit the pictorial representation to the display, wherein the sensed force-distance reference data is generated by:
• incorporating a force sensor into the system or a functionally identical system, the force sensor operable to sense a sensed force and generate data relating to the sensed forced that corresponds to weight on eye;
• receiving at the processor, data from the force sensor and the measuring device;
• and
• correlating weight on eye to the relative distance to generate the sensed force-distance reference data.