February 26, 2008 – Los Angeles, CA -- Ophthalmologist David Huang, MD, PhD, a researcher for the Doheny Eye Institute (www.doheny.org), presented a lecture entitled “LASIK Surgery Planning with Optical Coherence Tomography” at the Reseach Study Club meeting, held in Los Angeles, California on January 12, 2008. 

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a valuable tool for planning both primary LASIK and retreatment procedures, said Dr. Huang.  Before the primary treatment, OCT is used help screen out patients with an abnormal pattern of corneal thinning that is characteristic of keratoconus.  Patients with even a very subtle manifestation of keratoconus are not suitable candidates for LASIK.  OCT also has the unique ability to measure the thickness of the LASIK flap and the residual stromal bed without touching the eye or lifting the flap.  OCT imaging before a retreatment procedure can be used to determine whether or not the stromal bed is thick enough to withstand further ablation.

Dr. Huang is a co-inventor of the OCT technology and was involved with the development of commercial OCT instruments used for OCT imaging.  Both the Visante OCT system (Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc.) and the RTVue-CAM system (Optovue, Inc.) are useful for LASIK surgery screening, according to Dr. Huang.  Dr. Huang currently uses the RTVue-CAM system, which has higher resolution and imaging speed.

About David Huang, MD, PhD: Dr. David Huang is the medical director of the Doheny Laser Vision Center (www.DohenyLaser.com) and the Charles C. Manger III, MD Chair of Corneal Laser Surgery at the University of Southern California (www.USC.edu) in Los Angeles. He is listed in www.trustedlasiksurgeons.com , a directory service that screens LASIK surgeons based on research experience and premier patient care."

Dr. Huang has proprietary interest in the OCT technologies described above.  The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the companies mentioned in the press release.