| Allegretto Wave: The finest in LASIK technology Speed
It represents a new generation of refractive technology conducting High Performance Vision Correction that patients can rely on night and day. The Allegretto Wave offers a customized treatment that
incorporates wavefront principles to patients with nearsightedness
and even farsightedness. Every procedure is tailored to the patients’
corneal curvature and refraction with the intention to preserve the
natural aspheric cornea shape and to maintain or improve quality of
vision and visual acuity. If you are nearsighted you can determine your estimated laser treatment time on the chart below*.
Eyetracking
Therefore, PerfectPulse Technology uses advanced high speed eyetracking to follow the eye’s fastest movements and ensures accurate placement of every laser pulse. During the treatment the energy stability of every pulse is controlled with a smart energy control program. This program automatically balances the energy levels during the treatment to ensure that every laser pulse creates the same result.
PerfectPulse Technology comprises of many different technological components all aimed to control the laserpulse. Smart Energy Control measures the energy of each pulse three times while the pulse travels through the lasersystem. If at any of the three checkpoints the laserpulse’s energy does not meet the desired energy, then the system will automatically adjust itself. Energy is heat and if two hundred pulses of energy are applied on the eye per second, this could potentially cause heating which is not desirable. PerfectPulse Technology makes sure that only every fifth laser pulse overlaps the first and therefore reduces the chances of any kind of heating effects. PerfectPulse also means that the Allegretto Wave precisely sculpts the cornea in order to create a even ablation. With a pulse diameter of less than 1mm and a so-called Gaussian beam profile PerfectPulse Technology creates very fine, smooth pulses. The eye can move at extreme velocities. Therefore it is critical to follow the eye’s movements and place the pulses into the desired location. Active-track automatic eyetracking technology ensures that this is the case. Our eyetracking system checks the position of the eye 200 times per second – as many times as laser pulses reach the eye. Once the position of the eye is determined, the laser system automatically adjusts all internal mirrors to place the next pulse into the right location. Right before that pulse is launched, the system reconfirms that the eye has not moved in the meantime. Only if that is confirmed will the system release a laser pulse. The total reaction time from the detection of the eye position to the release of the next pulse is called response time and the Allegretto Wave’s response time is only 4-6ms depending on the moving speed of the eye. You can rely on PerfectPulse Technology to control every laser pulse from start to finish. This gives you the benefit and comfort of an ultra fast treatment and less time to worry.
For instance, imagine a glass ball. If you took a flashlight and aimed it directly at the top of the ball, the light would form a circular shape on the surface of the ball. If you now aimed the flashlight towards the side of the ball, the light would form an elliptical shape and not seem as bright anymore. This is because the same amount of light is suddenly distributed over a larger area and some of the light is reflected away due to the angled surface of the glass ball. Understanding these effects, the Allegretto Wave applies additional laser pulses into the periphery, with the intention to compensate for reflection to maintain the natural curved shape of the cornea. In addition, Wavefront principles are applied in order to address the induction of spherical aberrations. As a result the Allegretto Wave creates very smooth and functional optical zones. Large, true optical zones are important in laser vision correction, especially for patients with large pupils. During the day, the pupil is very small because of the bright daylight, but at night or under dim light conditions, the pupil opens up. A large, functional optical zone will support good vision even under dim light conditions. In the US clinical trials more than 1000 eyes were treated successfully with PerfectPulse technology and patients reported improved quality of vision, especially for night driving glare.
Throughout the course of three years, more than 1000 eyes were treated for near- and farsightedness. 11 clinical investigators across the United States and several international sites validated the technology and its outcomes in detail. More than 90% of the patients were followed closely over the course of one year in order to determine outcome development, stability and possible side effects. Please visit the FDA website on the Allegretto Wave for complete information on the approval order for myopia and hyperopia. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is a federal agency that operates as part of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is a unique institution in the world, that safeguards consumers and ensures proper validation of the safety and efficacy of medical devices and procedures, drugs and cosmetics. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the risks and benefits associated with a product or procedure the FDA requires that companies conduct extensive clinical trials before they can be made commercially available to the U.S. market. Depending on the application of the product, clinical trials can take numerous years and only if the FDA is fully convinced of the validity, safety and efficacy of the product or procedure, it will grant market approval. For more information on LASIK and the technologies associated with it, visit the FDA's website. |
