PRK / LASIK ~ LASIK, PRK, laser vision correction, eye care, hyperopia - farsightedness, myopia - nearsightedness, astigmatism and excimer laser information.

WHAT IS IRIS REGISTRATION?

Iris registration is an exclusive offering from VISX, maker of the most advanced lasers currently available in the U.S., the VISX Star S4 IR Excimer laser. Our all-in-one prices include surgery with a VISX laser, including wavefront-guided correction capabilities, three-dimensional eye tracking, auto centration and now iris registration.

Iris registration is the latest innovation available to ensure accuracy, safety, and better outcomes. Iris registration provides two outstanding benefits:

• proper patient identification
• better eye alignment for better results

Proper patient identification
When a patient’s eye is scanned by the Wavescan diagnostic instrument prior to surgery, the instrument captures all the information needed to perform a customized wavefront treatment. It also takes a very detailed image of the patient’s eye, including the unique characteristics of the iris. The process is similar to taking a fingerprint, but much more accurate. Iris images have been used in the high-tech security industry to uniquely identify individuals. No two iris images are the same.

During a wavefront surgical procedure, iris registration makes it possible for the VISX laser to compare the image from the Wavescan treatment data to the patient's iris to confirm that they match. If the image and the patient's iris do not match, the laser will not initiate treatment. This eliminates the possibility of operator error and ensures that the patient receives the correct, unique correction specified by the Wavescan analysis. Most wavefront patients will qualify for iris registration, which is provided at no extra cost.

Better eye alignment
In addition to ensuring proper patient identification, the iris registration software compensates for head and eye position of the patient. If, at the beginning of treatment, a patient’s head or eyes are not aligned exactly as they were at the time the wavescan and refraction measurements were taken, then all the uniquely identified asymmetries (aberrations) may not be corrected to their fullest during the PRK or LASIK procedure. When a refraction (the better one better two test) or a wavefront measurement is done, you are sitting in an upright position. When you are laid down under the laser for your PRK or LASIK procedure the eye rotates clockwise or counterclockwise by an average of 2 to 3 degrees and as much as 15 degrees. The Iris Registration software realigns the laser head the same amount your eye rotated when you laid down under the laser. This allows the individual laser pulses to be placed precisely in the correct spot on the cornea. Based on the wavescan measurements, this results in better vision after true custom treatments.

The auto centering function in the VISX Star S4 IR Excimer laser automatically finds and locks on to the center of your pupil under the laser and compares it to the center of the pupil when you were sitting at the wavescan, then computer corrects for this small centreoid shift. This assures that the laser pulses are accurately centered.

The auto tracker function of the laser finds and locks onto the center of the pupil and laser head optics moves if you move your eye while the laser treatment proceeds.

All three functions (Iris registration, auto centration and the active eye tracker) work together synergistically and simultaneously to ensure that the surgical correction is positioned properly on the patient's eye, and maximizes the laser's ability to make a precise vision correction. The VISX Star S4 IR laser is currently the only laser to offer iris registration and its enhanced ability to provide optimal outcomes.