WaveLight Allegretto Wave
The Allegretto System for LASIK, by WaveLight.
The WaveLight Allegretto System
The WaveLight Allegretto System is the newest and fastest excimer laser system to win FDA approval in the past 5 years. In 2004 and 2005, the Allegretto Wave held a 26% marketshare of all newly installed excimer laser systems worldwide. Including both WaveFront optimization and PerfectPulse Technology, the Allegretto Wave is arguably the safest and most effective excimer laser system on the market today.¹
Tracking/Guidance System
The WaveLight Allegro Analyzer
The Allegro Analyzer takes a detailed WaveFront scan of your eye utilizing only visible light. The process is fully automated so no off-line calculations or refactoring need take place. Utilizing the Tscherning principle, the Allegro Analyzer projects an image of its measurements back onto your eye so the surgeon can constantly verify that the measurements are correct. Decentered measurements are automatically excluded from data output before it is sent to proprietary WaveLight data processing software.
Current Excimer Lasers
The Allegretto Wave
Measurements from the Allegro Analyzer are used to calculate a specific course of surgery. As opposed to other excimer laser platforms, the Allegretto Wave aims to preserve the natural shape of the cornea- eye tissue is removed while the eye's naturally aspherical shape is maintained. This results in fewer negative side effects post surgery. According to WaveLight, in the FDA clinical trials 'patient's reports of night driving glare all improved after treatment on the Allegretto Wave.' ²
Features
- WaveFront Optimization: Customized treatment based on the unique characteristics of your eye.
- Larger Treatable Area: The treatment affects a larger area of the eye than most lasers to reduce common side effects such as halos.
- Perfect Pulse Technology: Small laser pulses are applied in rapid succession to reshape the cornea while maintaining natural (or close to natural) curvature and a smooth surface to the cornea (thus avoiding spherical distortions). A Closed Loop Energy Control system regulates the intensity of the laser beam throughout the surgery and ensures depth errors of less than 1.5 microns. Pulses are offset so overlaps occur one in every five times, markedly decreasing thermal effects on your eye.
- Active Eye Tracker (a component of PerfectPulse): Synchronously tracks the Allegretto Wave in real time during the procedure to ensure the highest possible accuracy. An automatic centering feature facilitates centered ablations and a the Closed Loop Tracking mode double checks the location of the eye before each pulse of the laser. In cases of abberrant eye movement, the active eye tracker responds in less than 8ms.
Specifications
- Speed: 200 Hz
- Type/Size of beam: Gaussian VSS 0.95mm
- Optical Zone (OZ): 4.5-8.0mm
- Treatment Zone (TZ): 5.2-8.7mm (spherical treatments); 7.0-9.0mm (cylindrical and spherico-cylindrical treatments)
Treatment Range:
- Myopia: up to -12.00D with astigmatism; up to -6.00D without astigmatism
- Hyperopia: up to +6.00D; up to +5.00D for astigmatism (note: not exceeding spherical equivalent or total refractive error of +6.00D); up to 6.00D for mixed astigmatism
FDA Approvals:
The Allegretto Wave Eye-Q
Identical to the original Allegretto Wave, but with twice the speed. Pulses are issued at a rate of 400hz, making the Eye-Q the fastest excimer laser on the market (in front of its predecessor)
FDA Approvals:
- 2006
FDA Clinical Trials²
Here are some select statistics from the FDA clinical trials of the Allegretto Wave (stats quoted from All About Vision).
- Nearsighted patients: 60% received 20/16 vision (even better than 20/20)
- 1 yr. Re-Check: 87% of patients saw 20/20 or better improvement.
- 98% of patient's ended up with 20/40 or better (legally able to pass a driving test)
External Links
- FDA Approved Lasers
- All About Vision
- Allegretto Wave homepage
- WaveLight
- WaveLight Disclaimer
- See the Max World News video about the Allegretto Wave²
Sources
