WaveFront LASIK Technology

Millions of people have reduced their dependence on eyeglasses and contact lenses over the past several years with the refractive procedure known as LASIK.

Here’s how this exciting technology works:

First, flat waves of light are passed through your eye using a computerized wavefront-measuring instrument called LADARWave. As the light waves travel through your eye’s optical system, the imperfections in the eye distort the flat light waves. LADARWave captured the distorted waves as they exit your eye and compares them to the perfectly flat light waves that would have been reflected if your optical system had no distortions.

The Wavefront system used to drive this technology 25 times more precise than conventional methods used for glasses and contacts. Coupled with the rapid tracking system of an Alcon LADARVision laser, this precise map or "fingerprint" of the eye can then be translated onto the surface of the eye rapidly and safety.

This procedure can correct refractive errors such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Now an enhanced version of LASIK, known as wavefront LASIK, is available. This improved system allows eye surgeons to customize the procedure for each eye, providing the possibility of even better vision.

Adapted from technology used in astronomy, wavefront LASIK is a procedure that uses an array of microsensors and a laser. A wave of light from a laser beam is sent through the eye to the retina. This light is reflected out of the eye, and the sensor measures the irregularities at the front of the wave of light as it emerges from the eye. This produces a precise three-dimensional map of the visual system, including the cornea’s imperfections, or aberrations. Thousands of people have the same eyeglass prescription, but because the map is so precise, no two people have the same wavefront measurements.

These wavefront data are translated into a mathematical formula the surgeon uses to program corrections into the ultraviolet cold laser, which vaporizes tissue to reshape the cornea. This new wavefront technology has a better chance of reducing higher-order aberrations that cause glare, haloes and blurry images. All wavefront patients will have some higher-order aberrations after their procedure, and in fact some types of aberration may increase. However, wavefront technology is the best tool for quantifying aberrations, and wavefront LASIK results in far fewer aberrations than conventional LASIK.

Concerns about quality of vision and nighttime glare with previous forms of LASIK prevented many people from having their vision corrected. In Food and Drug Administration trials, the majority of patients who had custom LASIK found their night vision to be better after the procedure than it was with their glasses or contact lenses. One FDA study showed More than 70 percent of custom LASIK patients saw better than 20/20.

Custom LASIK may not be for everyone because it removes more corneal tissue than conventional LASIK. Patients with thin corneas, high degrees of aberration, severely dry eyes or conditions that affect the lens or vitreous fluid inside the eye may not be good candidates. However, many of these patients may still be good candidates for conventional LASIK. Have Dr. Burger’s staff check to see if Custom LASIK is right for you.

Schedule your FREE LASIK Surgery consultation today.