Integration of analog and digital retinal tracking and coagulation subsystems

Laser photocoagulation is used by ophthalmologists to treat retinal disorders such as diabetic retinopathy and retinal breaks and tears. Currently, the procedure is performed manually and suffers from several drawbacks: it often requires many clinical visits, it is very tedious for both patient and physician, the laser pointing accuracy and safety margin are limited by a combination of the physician's manual dexterity and the patient's ability to hold their eye still, and there is a wide variability in retinal tissue absorption parameters. This paper describes progress in developing a computer-assisted robotic laser system that will rapidly and safely place multiple therapeutic lesions at desired locations on the retina in a few seconds.