Grid pattern laser treatment and methods
Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods for treating the retina and/or other areas of a patient's eye. The procedures may involve using one or more treatment beams (e.g., lasers) to cause photocoagulation or laser coagulation to finely cauterize ocular blood vessels and/or prevent blood vessel growth to induce one or more therapeutic benefits. In other embodiments, a series of short duration light pulses (e.g., between 5-15 microseconds) may be delivered to the retinal tissue with a thermal relaxation time delay between the pulse to limit the temperature rise of the target retinal tissue and thereby limit a thermal effect to only the retinal pigment epithelial layer. Such procedures may be used to treat diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and/or other conditions of the eye. The treatment beam may be delivered within a treatment boundary or pattern defined on the retina of the patient's eye.
1. A method for providing therapeutic treatment to a patient's eye, the method comprising:
delivering an aiming beam from a first light source along a first optical path;
defining, via the aiming beam, a treatment pattern on retinal tissue of the patient's eye, the treatment pattern comprising a plurality of geometric shapes that are arranged to form a continuous and connected grid or array of the geometric shapes on the retinal tissue; and
delivering, via a treatment beam from a second light source, a therapeutic treatment to the retinal tissue of the patient's eye within the plurality of geometric shapes of the treatment pattern, the delivered therapeutic treatment comprising a plurality of treatment spots within the defined treatment pattern at an intensity below that which effects coagulative damage so as to minimize damage to the retinal tissue, the treatment beam being delivered along a second optical path that is different from the first optical path of the aiming beam.
2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising redefining the treatment pattern on the retinal tissue during delivery of the therapeutic treatment so that a resulting visual effect is a solid or semi-solid display of the treatment pattern on the retinal tissue.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment is delivered so that a temperature of the retinal tissue remains below a threshold of coagulative damage so as to avoid inducing photocoagulation of the retinal tissue that results in visible damage.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment is delivered so as that a thermal effect of the treatment is confined to the retinal pigment epithelial layer.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the therapeutic treatment is delivered to the retinal tissue a plurality of times.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method is provided via an adapter device that is removably coupleable with a laser eye treatment system.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of geometric shapes defines an area within which the treatment beam is directed to deliver the therapeutic treatment.
8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the plurality of geometric shapes comprise one or more of the following:
a grid having a plurality of squares;
a grid having a plurality of rectangles;
a pattern of circles;
a semicircle pattern; or
a hexagonal pattern.
9. The method of claim 7 , further comprising directing the treatment beam within each of the geometric shapes.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein a spot of the treatment beam incident on the retinal tissue is entirely within a periphery of a respective geometric shape.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising delivering a series of pulses of the treatment beam onto the retinal tissue within the defined treatment pattern to provide the therapeutic treatment.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the treatment pattern comprises a grid having a plurality of rows and columns, and wherein the treatment beam is sequentially scanned along the plurality of rows and columns to deliver the treatment beam to the retinal tissue.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the grid comprises an M×N array of squares or rectangles arranged in a linear or semicircular pattern.
14. A method for providing therapeutic treatment to a patient's eye, the method comprising:
delivering an aiming beam from a first light source along a first optical path;
defining, via the aiming beam, a treatment pattern on retinal tissue of the patient's eye, the treatment pattern comprising a plurality of continuous and connected geometric shapes;
delivering, via a treatment beam from a second light source, a therapeutic treatment to the retinal tissue of the patient's eye within the plurality of geometric shapes of the treatment pattern, the delivered therapeutic treatment comprising a plurality of treatment spots within the defined treatment pattern at an intensity below that which effects coagulative damage so as to minimize damage to the retinal tissue, the treatment beam being delivered along a second optical path that is different from the first optical path of the aiming beam; and
redefining, via the aiming beam, the treatment pattern on the retinal tissue during delivery of the therapeutic treatment so that a resulting visual effect is a solid or semi-solid boundary of the continuous and connected geometric shapes on the retinal tissue.
15. A method for providing therapeutic treatment to a patient's eye, the method comprising:
delivering an aiming beam from a first light source along a first optical path;
defining, via the aiming beam, a treatment pattern on retinal tissue of the patient's eye, the treatment pattern comprising a plurality of continuous and connected geometric shapes that are arranged in rows and columns;
delivering, via a treatment beam from a second light source, a therapeutic treatment to the retinal tissue of the patient's eye within the plurality of geometric shapes of the treatment pattern, the delivered therapeutic treatment comprising a plurality of treatment spots within the defined treatment pattern at an intensity below that which effects coagulative damage so as to minimize damage to the retinal tissue, the treatment beam being delivered along a second optical path that is different from the first optical path of the aiming beam;
wherein the treatment pattern is arranged on the retinal tissue so that each delivered treatment spot overlaps with a treatment spot in an adjacent row and/or column of the treatment pattern.