In-Movie, Single-Frame Visualization of Shock Wave Propagation for the Studies of Laser Medical Procedures in Ophthalmology

Nowadays, about 250 million people worldwide are moderately or severely visually impaired. About 43% of those who suffer from vision loss that interferes with daily activities have refractive errors and 33% suffer from cataracts. Some 80% of cases are preventable or treatable, often using lasers. Refraction-correcting eye laser procedures as well as photoionization-based therapeutic laser eye surgery such as iridotomy, capsulotomy and vitreolysis have become standard methods of treatment. Although it is commonly believed that such laser medical procedures have negligible side effects, our recent research on shock waves that accompany these medical applications of lasers [1] has put the general conviction of minimal invasiveness under question.