Ophthalmic laser surgical system and method for wavefront-guided corneal lenticule extraction for vision correction

A method implemented in an ophthalmic laser system for incising a lenticule in a cornea of an eye, comprising:

• coupling the eye to the ophthalmic laser system to applanate the eye;
• obtaining a wavefront map which has been registered to the cornea of the applanated eye and defined at an anterior surface of the cornea;
• expressing the wavefront map as a sum of a plurality of Zernike polynomials including a plurality of lower-order Zernike polynomials and a plurality of higher-order Zernike polynomials;
• dividing the wavefront map into a lower-order part containing only the lower-order Zernike polynomials and a higher-order part containing only the higher-order Zernike polynomials;
• calculating a bottom lenticule incision profile containing all of the higher-order part and a portion of the lower-order part of the wavefront map;
• calculating a top lenticule incision profile containing only a remaining portion the lower-order part of the wavefront map and no portion of the higher-order part of the wavefront map;
• and
• operating the ophthalmic laser system to incise the cornea according to the bottom and top lenticule incision profiles to form the bottom and top lenticule incision surfaces.

An ophthalmic surgical laser system comprising:

• a laser source configured to generate a pulsed laser beam comprising a plurality of laser pulses;
• a laser delivery system configured to deliver the pulsed laser beam to a cornea of an eye coupled to the laser delivery system;
• an XY-scanner configured to scan the pulsed laser beam in the cornea;
• a Z-scanner configured to modify a depth of a focus of the pulsed laser beam;
• and
• a controller configured to control the laser source, the XY-scanner and the Z-scanner to form lenticule incisions in the cornea, including:
• obtaining a wavefront map which has been registered to the cornea of the coupled eye and defined at an anterior surface of the cornea;
• expressing the wavefront map as a sum of a plurality of Zernike polynomials including a plurality of lower-order Zernike polynomials and a plurality of higher-order Zernike polynomials;
• dividing the wavefront map into a lower-order part containing only the lower-order Zernike polynomials and a higher-order part containing only the higher-order Zernike polynomials;
• calculating a bottom lenticule incision profile containing all of the higher-order part and a portion of the lower-order part of the wavefront map;
• calculating a top lenticule incision profile containing only a remaining portion the lower-order part of the wavefront map and no portion of the higher-order part of the wavefront map;
• and
• controlling the laser source, the XY-scanner and the Z-scanner of the ophthalmic laser system to incise the cornea according to the bottom and top lenticule incision profiles to form the bottom and top lenticule incision surfaces.