Development of Multi-Mode Retinal Phototherapy Device

Therapies taking advantage of the interaction between light and biological tissues are well diffused in different medical disciplines. In ophthalmology, photo-thermal and photo-chemical light-tissue interaction successfully address many eye disorders. However, protocols and practices still have mild success with chronic-degenerative retinal disorders. We developed RetinaSEES to address the early pathological stages of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) by combining and optimizing photo-thermal and photo-chemical laser-based treatment modalities to maximize their inherent principle of action. The device, besides the innovative “laser-combination therapy”, features a highly modular construction allowing to increase patient's and operator's comfort. The optical arrangements allow to position and monitor patient eye in an expedited and semi-automatic fashion without the need of Goldmann contact lens. The device's architecture focuses on delivering fully controlled, safe, repeatable, and rapid treatment sessions. The device enables the physician to control and monitor treatments through a real-time and high-resolution confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (cSLO) by continuously visualizing patient's retina. The user experience is further enhanced thanks to the fixed pre-programmed treatment protocols inspired by the experiences accumulated with the clinically known subthreshold micro pulse laser (SMPL) and photo biomodulation (PBM) practices. The developed device offers a completely new treatment modality that has the potential to harmonize clinical results with unprecedent outcomes and therefore obtain the consensus of the clinical community. RetinaSEES is introduced, described, and characterized by providing technical specifications and detailing the visualization and treatment modules. Furthermore, the device undergoes characterization via various measurements.