Abstract

The performance of femtosecond (fs) laser intrastromal ablation
was evaluated with backscattering-mode adaptive-optics multiphoton
microscopy in ex vivo chicken corneas. The pulse energy of the fs source
used for ablation was set to generate two different ablation patterns within
the corneal stroma at a certain depth. Intrastromal patterns were imaged
with a custom adaptive-optics multiphoton microscope to determine the
accuracy of the procedure and verify the outcomes. This study demonstrates
the potential of using fs pulses as surgical and monitoring techniques to
systematically investigate intratissue ablation. Further refinement of the
experimental system by combining both functions into a single fs laser
system would be the basis to establish new techniques capable of
monitoring corneal surgery without labeling in real-time. Since the
backscattering configuration has also been optimized, future in vivo
implementations would also be of interest in clinical environments
involving corneal ablation procedures.
© 2011 Optical Society of America

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