Femtosecond laser energy

“There are several obvious differences between femtosecond laser energy and ultrasound energy,” said Dr. Roberto Bellucci, MD, of Italy. “Of importance during femtosecond cataract surgery is pre-setting the energy levels correctly. Whereas ultrasound energy is easily variable during surgery, femtosecond settings cannot be adjusted once surgery has begun.” In order to achieve the optimal setting, “we need some parameters to guide this pre-setting of energy required for lens fragmentation.”

Dr. Bellucci discussed the results of his study during the Femtocataract I free paper session of the ESCRS on Sunday morning.

The sum of two parameters was considered: nuclear color/opacity (from 1-6) and anterior cortical opacity (1-5) to obtain a single score from 2 to 11. Laser energy was regulated according to the LOCS III score, from 7.2 μJ to 8.1 μJ per pulse at fixed spacing. Quality of lens fragmentation was evaluated from 1 (poor) to 4 (optimal).