Allegretto Wave Sacramento California Allegretto Wave

The ALLEGRETTO WAVE system is the first new laser to receive approval in the United States since 1999. Please click here to watch a video about the Allegretto Wave Laser.

It is the fastest laser system in the United States today, using PerfectPulse Technology to safely and accurately control every single laser pulse from start to finish. The system was designed to perfection based on knowledge and experience. It represents a new generation of refractive technology conducting High Performance Vision Correction that patients can rely on night and day.

The ALLEGRETTO WAVE offers a customized treatment that incorporates wavefront principles to patients with nearsightedness and even farsightedness.
  
Every procedure is tailored to the patients' corneal curvature and refraction with the intention to preserve the natural aspheric cornea shape and to maintain or improve quality of vision and visual acuity.

Speed

The ALLEGRETTO WAVE is today the fastest laser available to patients in the United States . In one second the system applies 200 fine laserpulses on the cornea. In fact, one diopter only takes 4 seconds to correct (at a 6.5mm true optical zone). That means that the average patient treatment with about less than 3 diopters takes only ten seconds. the time it takes you to pour yourself a cup of coffee.

Eyetracking

Such a high-speed laser must also have an ultra-fast eye tracking system to follow eye movement during the procedure. The ALLEGRETTO WAVE captures the current position of the eye 200 times per second. It then only takes the laser a fraction of a second to reposition the laser putting it exactly into the desired location on the eye. Should the eye ever move too fast or out of range, the laser will automatically stop and wait until the eye is back in position. So you can simply relax, knowing that your eye is being followed at all times.

Perfect Pulse Technology

PerfectPulse Technology means that every laser pulse is completely controlled as it is applied to the eye using intelligent pulse management.

This is critical as the ALLEGRETTO WAVE operates at high speed with 200 laser pulses per second. Every laser pulse thinner than your fingernail in order to precisely sculpt the corneal surface.

Therefore, PerfectPulse Technology uses advanced high speed eyetracking to follow the eye's fastest movements and ensures accurate placement of every laser pulse. During the treatment the energy stability of every pulse is controlled with a smart energy control program. This program automatically balances the energy levels during the treatment to ensure that every laser pulse creates the same result. 

Please click on the Allegretto Wave case studies below to download them in PDF format:

Allegretto Wave case study 1
Allegretto Wave case study 2
Allegretto Wave case study 3

More about PerfectPulse Technology

PerfectPulse Technology comprises of many different technological components all aimed to control the laserpulse.

Smart Energy Control measures the energy of each pulse three times while the pulse travels through the lasersystem. If at any of the three checkpoints the laserpulse's energy does not meet the desired energy, then the system will automatically adjust itself.

Energy is heat and if two hundred pulses of energy are applied on the eye per second, this could potentially cause heating which is not desirable. PerfectPulse Technology makes sure that only every fifth laser pulse overlaps the first and therefore reduces the chances of any kind of heating effects.

PerfectPulse also means that the ALLEGRETTO WAVE precisely sculpts the cornea in order to create a even ablation. With a pulse diameter of less than 1mm and a so-called Gaussian beam profile PerfectPulse Technology creates very fine, smooth pulses.

The eye can move at extreme velocities. Therefore it is critical to follow the eye's movements and place the pulses into the desired location. Active-track automatic eyetracking technology ensures that this is the case. Our eyetracking system checks the position of the eye 200 times per second – as many times as laser pulses reach the eye. Once the position of the eye is determined, the laser system automatically adjusts all internal mirrors to place the next pulse into the right location. Right before that pulse is launched, the system reconfirms that the eye has not moved in the meantime. Only if that is confirmed will the system release a laser pulse. The total reaction time from the detection of the eye position to the release of the next pulse is called response time and the ALLEGRETTO WAVE's response time is only 4-6ms depending on the moving speed of the eye.

You can rely on PerfectPulse Technology to control every laser pulse from start to finish. This gives you the benefit and comfort of an ultra fast treatment and less time to worry.

Wavefront-Optimized

The ALLEGRETTO WAVE was designed with the understanding that the human cornea is not a simple optic. Based on extensive empirical research, WaveLight developed a proprietary treatment that is adjusted to the patient's individual corneal curvature .

Imagine a glass ball.
If you took a flashlight and aimed it directly at the top of the ball, the light would form a circular shape on the surface of the ball. If you now aimed the flashlight towards the side of the ball, the light would form an elliptical shape and not seem as bright anymore.This is because the same amount of light is suddenly distributed over a larger area and some of the light is reflected away due to the angled surface of the glass ball.

Understanding these effects, the ALLEGRETTO WAVE applies additional laser pulses into the periphery, with the intention to compensate for reflection to maintain the natural curved shape of the cornea. In addition, Wavefront principles are applied in order to address the induction of spherical aberrations. 

As a result the ALLEGRETTO WAVE creates very smooth and functional optical zones. Large, true optical zones are important in laser vision correction, especially for patients with large pupils.

During the day, the pupil is very small because of the bright daylight, but at night or under dim light conditions, the pupil opens up. A large, functional optical zone will support good vision even under dim light conditions.

In the US clinical trials more than 1000 eyes were treated successfully with PerfectPulse technology and patients reported improved quality of vision especially in regards to night driving glare.