Customized treatment, also known as wavefront laser or wavefront-guided laser, uses 3-dimensional measurements of how your eye processes images to guide the laser in re-shaping the front part of the eye which is the cornea.

With a wavefront measurement system, some extremely precise, individualized vision correction outcomes that would be impossible with conventional lasik surgery, contact lenses or spectacles may be achieved.

Wavefront-guided treatment provides the most technologically advanced measurement not just of standard visual but also of scattered light errors known as 'aberrations'. Wavefront technology or aberrometry is based on the principle that if an eye had no imperfections at all, light passed through it would not scatter. But because no eye is perfect, light scatters to form distinct patterns - called a wavefront. Wavefront technology measures your personal/individual patterns and thus allows the surgeon to plan a treatment that exactly matches individual vision errors.

With customized treatment, your eye's ability to focus light rays is measured, and a 3-D map is created that demonstrates irregularities in the way your eye processes images. Information contained in the map guides the laser in customizing the treatment to reshape your eye's corneal surface so that these irregularities can be corrected.

Standard prescriptions for glasses, contacts, or traditional LASIK procedures can correct ordinary vision defects such as myopia (short-sightedness), hyperopia (long-sightedness), and astigmatism. But other irregularities associated with the eye's optical system could not be addressed until the advent of wavefront and related technology used in the customized treatment.

Wavefront technology has the potential to improve not only how much you can see, but also how well you can see. This reduces the risk of post-LASIK complications, such as glare, halos and difficulty with night vision.

How much you see depends on vision defects known as lower-order aberrations associated with common refractive errors including myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, which traditional LASIK can treat. How well you see can depend on presence of the type and numbers of visual distortions known as higher-order aberrations, which can include irregularities caused by the irregularities of the cornea other than common refractive errors. These higher-order aberrations can create problems such as decreased night vision, glare, shadows and halos. However, higher-order aberrations may or may not affect vision. Unlike traditional LASIK, customized laser treats both lower- and higher-order aberrations.

Custom LASIK's advantage lies in the area of quality of vision:
- Greater chance of achieving 20/20 vision.
- Reduced chance of losing visual quality.
- Reduced chance of night-vision disturbances and glare.

Technology - How Custom LASIK Works

Using the wavefront device to transmit a safe ray of light into your eye, the light is then reflected back off the retina, out through the pupil, and into the wavefront device, where the reflected wave of light is received and arranged into a unique pattern that captures your lower- and higher-order aberrations. All of these visual irregularities are then displayed as a 3-D map, referred to as a wavefront map. This information is then electronically transferred to the laser (in wavefront-guided systems), and computer-matched to the eye's position, enabling the surgeon to customize the LASIK procedure to your unique visual requirements.

FAQ

What is Customized LASIK?
Customized LASIK is a technology where the tissue removal pattern is tailor-made for each of your eyes. It sets out to improve overall visual quality in terms of contrast sensitivity and fine detail as well as to reduce higher order aberrations such as haloes, glare for night vision.

What is the difference between customized and conventional LASIK?
Conventional LASIK can provide excellent results when correcting a wide range of vision problem like short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism, these vision problems are known as lower order aberrations.
Customized LASIK goes beyond reshaping your cornea based on prescription; it also corrects other imperfections in your optical system that may affect the clarity of your vision and how well you see at night and in low light that previously could not be detected. These are known as higher order aberrations which contribute to glare, shadows, halos and other annoying visual effects.

Unless these higher order aberrations can be addressed along with the lower order aberrations, the quality of your vision may not be ideal, even if you have measurable vision of 20/20.

Optimax's Customized Treatment

With the various laser machines available, Optimax is offering the different customized platforms that cater for different eyes.
 

1. LADARWaveTM Wavefront (CustomCornea® - ALCON)
2. Zywave^TM Aberrometer (Zyoptix 100- Bausch & Lomb)
3. WASCA Analyzer (Carl Zeiss)
4. OPDScan Aberrometer (NIDEK)