System and method for precise beam positioning in ocular surgery

1. A method for directing a surgical laser beam to tissue in a treatment area of an eye of a patient during ocular surgery which comprises the steps of:

using the eye to establish a reference datum;

sequentially creating a plurality of images extending into the eye wherein each image includes a visualization of the reference datum and a visualization of the treatment area;

generating a surgical laser beam;

guiding the surgical laser beam along a beam path to a desired focal point in the treatment area;

positioning the focal point of the surgical laser beam in the treatment area, relative to the reference datum in the image, for guiding the beam during surgery;

monitoring the reference datum and the desired focal point;

using the reference datum to determine a delta for each image, wherein the delta is a distance between an actual position of the focal point and the position of the desired focal point; and

maintaining the delta at a substantial null.

2. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

scanning the focal point of the surgical laser beam in orthogonal x, y and z directions; and

focusing the surgical laser beam for establishing the focal point.

3. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the step of presenting the image as a plane image.

4. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

establishing a reference axis relative to the eye; and

optically creating a plurality of images extending into the eye, wherein each image includes a visualization of the treatment area and each image is identified by a unique orientation parameter measured relative to the reference axis, and wherein there is a same incremental change in the orientation parameter between adjacent images.

5. A method as recited in claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

optically creating a plurality of images extending into the eye, wherein the reference datum is a reference datum line; and

connecting the respective reference datum lines of each image to create a three-dimensional datum surface for use as the reference datum.

6. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the creating step is accomplished using techniques selected from a group comprising optical coherence tomography (OCT), confocal imaging, Scheimpflug principle imaging and second harmonic generation imaging.

7. A method as recited in claim 1 wherein the reference datum is selected from a group comprising an anterior surface of a cornea, a posterior surface of a cornea, a boundary of a crystalline lens, and a fundus of an eye.