The Eyes Have It

OptiMedtica announces Catalys Precision Laser System improves cataract surgery

(RxWiki News) Cataract surgery awaits 33 percent of the America’s population. A new surgical tool from Catalys looks to make the process a lot more streamlined.  

The new Catalys Precision Laser System offers significant precision improvement for surgeons performing cataract surgery. Surgeons are now able to replace the formerly manual incisions using the lnew laser system which dramatically improves the outcome for patients.

"These study results clearly indicate that a femtosecond laser with integrated Ocular Coherence Tomography (OCT) imaging, advanced optics and control software can provide multiple benefits for cataract surgery," said the study's lead author Daniel Palanker, associate professor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University. "We believe the new laser-assisted technique represents a significant scientific and clinical advancement that will make cataract surgery much more precise and reproducible.” OptiMedica expects a worldwide launch of the new laser system in 2011.

"Dramatic improvements in cataract surgery are just around the corner."

“The use of lasers has revolutionized the treatment of a wide variety of eye diseases over the past 50 years," said Dr. Chris Quinn, President of OMNI Eye Services. "These new laser systems for the treatment of cataracts, one of the most common surgical procedures performed in the United States, can undoubtedly improve the consistency and accuracy of various components of a cataract operation. If show to improve patient outcomes, lasers will become an important evolutionary development in the treatment of cataracts.”

Four incisions are performed by Catalys: Capsulotomy, which is a circular incision in the lens capsule; lens fragmentation, which segments and softens the lens to prepare it for removal; relaxing incisions, which cuts to corrects the astigmatism; and cataract incisions, which cuts to allow insertion of the surgical tools. The study compared 29 laser-treated eyes to 30 manually treated eyes. The study reported a 12-fold improvement in the incision in the lens capsule, a 2-fold improvement in that incision’s strength, and a 40 percent ultrasound energy reduction which may simplify removing the lens.

"The significant gains in precision we were able to achieve in the clinical study of Catalys represent an incredibly exciting development in the field of cataract surgery," said the publication's co-author William Culbertson, M.D., Professor of Ophthalmology, The Lou Higgins Distinguished Chair in Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami. "A more precise procedure will enable cataract surgeons to more accurately position the IOL, and this is key to visual outcomes."

Review Date: 
March 23, 2011