Importance

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Abstract

A universally sized blank made of organic or synthetic material, or a hybrid combination of an organic and synthetic material, that can be placed on an exposed inner surface of a live cornea and, if desired, ablated with a laser beam to be altered to a particular shape. The blank further includes material which can increase the volume of the blank when exposed to a particular energy, and another material which can decrease or shrink the volume of the blank when exposed to a particular type of energy. A flap-like portion of the live cornea is removed to expose an inner surface of the cornea, and the blank is positioned on the exposed inner surface of the eye. If desired, a laser beam is directed onto certain portions of the blank that are selected based on the type of ametropic condition (i.e., myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism) of the eye needing correction, so that the laser beam ablates those portions and thus reshapes the blank. The laser beam can also be directed onto certain portions of the laser surface of the cornea to ablate those surfaces of the cornea. The flap-like portion of the cornea is repositioned over the remaining portion of the blank, so that the remaining portion of the blank influences the shape of the reattached flap-like portion of the cornea and thus modifies the curvature of the cornea. The appropriate energy can be irradiated onto the ablated or unablated blank, to increase or decrease the volumes of portions of the blank, as appropriate, to modify or further modify the curvature of the cornea to more precisely correct the vision disorder. Alternatively, the blank can include a plurality of sections, which can be removed through a small incision in the cornea to adjust the correction factor.

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First Claim