System and method for performing an ocular irradiation procedure

A system for performing an ocular irradiation procedure on a patient's eye, comprising

• (a) a head support for supporting the patient's head,
• (b) an eye-contact device attachable to the front portion of the patient's eye, to stabilize the position of the eye relative to the eye-contact device,
• (c) means for determining the position of the patient's eye, the eye being stabilized with respect to the contact device, and with the patient's head supported in the head support, in an external coordinate system,
• (d) a source of a collimated irradiation beam, and
• (e) a beam-positioning assembly for positioning the beam source in the external coordinate system such that the beam, when activated, is aimed along a selected path at a selected coordinate in the external coordinate system corresponding to a selected target region in the patient's eye;
• wherein said determining means includes a position detector for determining the position of the contact device, and thus the position of the patient's eye attached to the contact device, in the external coordinate system;
• wherein the system further includes an eye-positioning assembly for moving the eye-contact device to place the device at a selected position in the external coordinate system, and the position detector is operable to determine the position of the contact device in the external coordinate system, with such placed at said selected position;
• wherein the eye-positioning assembly is operable to adjust the angular position of the contact device with respect to the patient's head, and the position detector detects an angle of a beam emanating from the contact device;
• wherein the eye-contact device includes (i) a concave contact surface adapted to be placed against the front surface of a patient's eye, (ii) an outer surface, (iii) a port in fluid communication with the contact surface, by which a negative pressure can be applied between the eye and the contact surface, to stabilize the position of the eye with respect to the contact device, and (iv) a connector carried on the outer surface of the device, and the system further includes a biasing mechanism coupled to the connector of the contact device for pressing the eye-contact device against the eye with a force sufficient to the hold the contact device against the eye, when the eye is stabilized with respect to the device by application of a negative pressure between the eye and the device's contact surface;
• wherein the eye-positioning assembly includes an arm that is pivotally attached to the connector of the eye-contact device, and an arm control mechanism for controlling the movement of the arm in at least one direction in the external coordinate system, and the position detector is operable to determine the position of the contact device in the external coordinate system from the position of the eye-positioning assembly arm in the external coordinate system;
• wherein said determining means includes a reference-beam light source operatively connected to the irradiation-beam source, for producing a reference light beam along a path coincident with the collimated irradiation beam produced by the irradiation beam source, and said beam-positioning assembly is operable to place the irradiation beam source at a position such that the collimated irradiation beam is aimed at the selected target region of patient's eye.