Cornea contact system

1. A system for positioning the eye of a patient for laser surgery which comprises:

a laser unit for generating a laser beam;

an alignment device mounted on said laser unit;

a patient interface having a first end formed with a receptacle for receiving said alignment device therein and a second end for holding a contact lens thereon;

a two-piece scissor-type clamp defining an orifice, the clamp having a first handle with a first latch and a second handle with a second latch, said clamp being moveable between a first configuration wherein the first handle is spread from the second handle to receive the second end of said patient interface in the orifice, and a second configuration wherein the first handle is juxtaposed with the second handle to close the orifice onto the patient interface and to fixedly hold the second end of said patient interface on said clamp, wherein said clamp is selectively locked in its second configuration by the engagement of the first latch with the second latch; and

a suction ring attached to said clamp to surround the orifice and hold the contact lens at the second end of the patient interface against the eye of the patient when said interface is held by said clamp, and said alignment device is received in the receptacle of the first end of the patient interface for laser surgery.

2. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein the curved contact lens is mounted on the second end of said patient interface for positioning of said lens against the eye of the patient at a predetermined distance from said laser unit during laser surgery.

3. A system as recited in claim 1 further comprising a suction means connected to said suction ring to create a suction therewith for holding said suction ring in position against the eye to surround a target area thereon where the laser surgery is to be performed.

4. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein said alignment device is formed with a suction channel and said system further comprises a suction means connected in fluid communication with said suction channel to create a suction for holding said patient interface against said alignment device.

5. A system as recited in claim 1 wherein said suction ring is rigidly affixed to said first handle and said second handle is mounted on said first handle for rotation about a pivot point thereon to establish the first configuration and, alternatively, to establish the second configuration for said clamp.

6. A system as recited in claim 5 wherein said first handle is formed with a pin, and said second handle is formed with a slot for receiving said pin therein to interact therewith to restrict relative movement of said first and second handles between the first and second configurations.

7. A system for positioning the eye of a patient in alignment with a laser unit for laser surgery which comprises:

an alignment device;

a patient interface having a first end formed with a receptacle for receiving said alignment device therein and a second end for holding a contact lens thereon;

a two-piece scissor-type clamp defining an orifice, the clamp having a first handle with a first latch and a second handle with a second latch, said clamp being moveable from a first configuration wherein the first handle is spread from the second handle to receive the second end of said patient interface in the orifice, and a second configuration wherein the first handle is juxtaposed with the second handle to close the orifice onto the second end of the patient interface to fixedly hold said patient interface on said clamp, wherein said clamp is selectively locked in its second configuration by the engagement of the first latch with the second latch and wherein the alignment device is mounted on the laser unit for engagement with the first end of said patient interface to align the eye of the patient with the laser unit for laser surgery; and

a suction ring attached to said clamp to surround the orifice and hold the patient interface against the eye of the patient when said interface is held by said clamp.

8. A system as recited in claim 7 wherein the contact lens is curved and is mounted on said patient interface for positioning of said lens against the eye of the patient at a predetermined distance from said laser unit during laser surgery.

9. A system as recited in claim 7 further comprising:

a first suction means connected to said suction ring to create a suction for holding said suction ring in position against the eye to surround a target area thereon where the laser surgery is to be performed; and

a second suction means for creating a suction to hold said patient interface against said alignment device.

10. A system as recited in claim 7 wherein said clamp further comprises a locking mechanism for selectively maintaining the second configuration of said clamp.

11. A system as recited in claim 7 wherein said suction ring is rigidly affixed to said first handle and said second handle is mounted on said first handle for rotation about a pivot point thereon to establish the first configuration and, alternatively, to establish the second configuration for said clamp.

12. A system as recited in claim 11 wherein said first handle is formed with a pin, and said second handle is formed with a slot for receiving said pin therein to interact therewith to restrict relative movement of said first and second handles between the first and second configurations.

13. A method for positioning the eye of a patient in alignment with a laser unit for laser surgery which comprises the steps of:

mounting an alignment device on the laser unit;

locating a suction ring on the eye of the patient to surround a target area thereon where the laser surgery is to be performed, wherein the suction ring is attached to a two-piece scissor-type clamp defining an orifice, the clamp having a first handle with a first latch and a second handle with a second latch and said clamp is moveable between a first configuration wherein the first handle is spread from the second handle and a second configuration wherein the first handle is juxtaposed with the second handle, and wherein said clamp is selectively locked in its second configuration by the engagement of the first latch with the second latch;

holding a patient interface with said clamp, wherein said patient interface has a first end formed with a receptacle and a second end with a contact lens mounted thereon, and wherein said holding step is accomplished by moving the clamp from its first configuration wherein said clamp receives the second end of said patient interface in the orifice, and its second configuration wherein said clamp closes the orifice onto the second end of the patient interface to fixedly hold said patient interface on said clamp; and

receiving the alignment device into the receptacle at the first end of said patient interface to align said patient interface with the laser unit for laser surgery.

14. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein said holding step is accomplished before said receiving step.

15. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein said receiving step is accomplished before said holding step.

16. A method as recited in claim 13 wherein said clamp comprises said suction ring rigidly affixed to the first handle, and the second handle mounted on said first handle for rotation about a pivot point thereon to establish the first configuration and, alternatively, to establish the second configuration for said clamp, and wherein said first handle is formed with a pin, and said second handle is formed with a slot for receiving said pin therein to interact therewith to restrict relative movement of said first and second handles between the first and second configurations.