Method and apparatus for delivering laser energy for ophthalmic use

An apparatus for delivering high power laser energy to the eye for surgical operations thereon comprising:

• a hollow cylindrical member mounted on and perpendicular to a base, the interior of said cylindrical member communicating with the underside of said base;
• a biomicroscope for viewing the eye and mounted for movement about a rotational axis to traverse a first arc, said rotational axis corresponding to the longitudinal axis of said cylindrical member;
• a slit lamp mounted for movement about said rotational axis to traverse a second arc;
• a Neodymium Yttrium-Aluminum Garnet laser for generating a high energy laser beam directed parallel to the plane of said base;
• a control circuit for controlling the duration of said high energy laser beam;
• a Helium Neon laser for generating a low power laser beam;
• a birefringent crystal disposed in the path of said low energy laser beam for generating the ordinary and extraordinary rays thereof, said rays being parallel and having a defined distance therebetween;
• means for mixing the output of said high energy laser and said birefringent crystal such that said high energy laser beam is coexistent with one of the beams output by said birefringent crystal;
• a harmonic generator disposed in the path of the combined high and low energy laser beams for generating harmonics of said high energy laser beam;
• a pentaprism mounted below said base and proximate the longitudinal axis of said cylindrical member and disposed in the path of the laser beams output by said harmonic generator for providing an orthogonal deflection thereof upward into the interior of said cylindrical member;
• means for adjusting the position of said pentaprism to direct said deflected beams along said rotational axis;
• means for optically directing the output of said pentaprism along said rotational axis to intersect the illumination path of said slit lamp at a point radially disposed from said rotational axis such that said intersection point is maintained constant for all rotational angles of said slit lamp;
• a Galliliean beam expander disposed in the path of said high and low energy laser beams prior to said intersection point;
• a focusing lens disposed in the path of said high and low energy beams between said intersection point and said beam expander;
• a replaceable filter disposed in the path of said high and low energy beams between said focusing lens and said intersection point for selecting one of the harmonics of said high energy laser beam;
• coding means associated with said replaceable filter for coding each filter such that said control circuit controls the duration and power level of said high energy laser beam automatically with the selection of said filter;
• a dielectric mirror disposed at said intersection point to reflect the output of said selected filter and transmit the illumination of said slit lamp to the eye such that said high and low energy beams transmitted through said filter are parfocal with the output of said slit lamp and the illumination of said slit lamp passing through said dielectric mirror;
• means for adjusting the position of said dielectric mirror to adjust the focal point of said high energy laser beam within the illuminated area of the eye illuminated by said slit lamp;
• and
• a shutter disposed along the viewing axis of said slit lamp and out of the path of said high energy laser beam;
• means for activating said shutter in response to the generation of said high energy laser beam to prevent reflection of the energy from said high energy laser beam from passing along the viewing axis of said slit lamp to the operator;
• and
• filter means disposed along the viewing axis of said slit lamp and out of the transmission path of said high energy laser beam, said filter means selectable to filter out reflections of said high energy laser beam to the operator.