Retinal photocoagulation was first described more than 40 years ago,1 and laser photocoagulation has remained a standard of care for a variety of sight-threatening retinal disorders. Although conventional panretinal photocoagulation is effective, the collateral damage and loss of vision from the treated area have driven interest in developing alternate laser approaches with less collateral damage, developing newer biologic therapies to mitigate vascular leak, and combining laser and biologic approaches.

Three parameters interact to determine the delivered thermal load for effective coagulation: pulse durations (100-500 ms), beam diameter (100-500 µm), and pulse energy (100-750 mW).2 To reduce retinal collateral damage, the application of shorter pulse durations and computer-guided patterned scanning systems (4-50 spots each delivered in 10- to 30-ms/pulse intervals) has been developed. Shorter pulse durations are associated with greater patient comfort,3 but require greater peak energy to achieve the desired coagulation goal, thus continuing to raise concerns about thermal damage. Micropulse (subvisible) coagulation (train of short pulses) has been shown to selectively photocoagulate the retinal pigment epithelium with less damage to adjacent structures.4 Interest in even shorter pulse technologies has led to the development of selective retinal therapy, an approach in which a train of ultra-short pulses (200 ns to 1.7 µs pulses) is applied, and the thermal load is confined to the photoreceptor layer with little damage to adjacent photoreceptors or the choriocapilaries).5....read more

Photocoagulation, in itself, is nothing new. However, a closer look into the applied physics and science of this technology brings with it some clinical insight. The Solitaire laser system offers a solid-state system with continuous-wave single- or dual-beam operation for use in the clinic and operating suite. The core laser is a solid-state diode-pumped 532-nm laser with 50 mW to 1500 mW endoprobe power and a repeat....read more

Next Generation Eye CubedTM - High resolution goes ultra With the highest image resolution and fastest real time sample and imaging rates the new Eye Cubed system offers the optimal system combination for pre- and post-op B- scan, and diagnostic A-scan imaging of the retinal and vitreous (10 MHz posterior imaging to 20 MHz wide-field anterior imaging) imaging of the retina and vitreal spaces....read more