The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Biolase a new patent (#7,867,223) covering the use of its laser technologies for treating presbyopia and hyperopia. Titled "Methods for Treating Hyperopia and Presbyopia via Laser Tunneling," the patent covers the use of erbium-based pulsed lasers to increase or facilitate an increase in accommodation, mitigating the effects of presbyopia and enabling the eye to refocus at near distance without losing its ability to focus at a distance.
This new patent is Biolase's first U.S. patent to be issued in its Ophthalmic Patent Family IV and is one of a total of seven issued and 20 pending U.S. and international patents in the four families in the field of ophthalmology. Specific claims include the company's Waterlase Er,Cr:YSGG laser technology.
Unlike other approaches to treating presbyopia utilizing lasers, the Waterlase method does not involve altering the cornea or lens, according to Federico Pignatelli, Biolase chairman and CEO. The method restores normal accommodative function, thereby improving near, intermediate and distance vision. There are no issues with glare, depth perception, or intermediate vision, and patients retain natural binocular stereoscopic vision.
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Posted by Lee Mather
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