Alcon and Novamed Eyecare Inc have entered into a multi-year agreement expanding an existing laser-supply relationship with Alcon Laboratories Inc.

"Alcon is pleased to announce that after an extensive evaluation of all currently available laser technologies, Novamed has decided to convert to LADARVision as its primary laser in each of its markets," said Bill Barton, Alcon's vice president/general manager, Surgical. "Novamed has chosen a procedural financing program that amortizes the cost of the laser over time on a per-procedure basis. This type of program is common among other laser manufacturers and has been successfully used by Alcon for phaco equipment as well as lasers."

LADARVision is the most advanced excimer laser on the market today for refractive eye surgery, Barton said. Combining proprietary eye-tracking technology with a flying small-spot laser, LADARVision allows Novamed physicians to offer their patients a significant improvement over the broad- beam lasers and video trackers used in older technologies.

"Our customer's experience shows that LADARVision provides outstanding clinical outcomes. This supports the FDA-approved claim for improving the accuracy of corneal shaping," Barton added. "We are excited that Novamed has elected to continue replacing their older technology with this exciting new technology. And we are delighted they have teamed with Alcon, the world's largest full-line eye care company."

The LADARVision features the LADARtracker, an eye-tracking system developed out of NASA's space program. The LADARtracker measures eye movement 4,000 times per second and automatically compensates for eye movement during laser surgery, insuring the laser beam is precisely delivered to the exact location specified by the ablation algorithm. It not only improves accuracy, but also removes the anxiety that accompanied the patient eye-fixation requirements of the older broad-beam lasers.

Another feature of LADARVision is its flying small spot. With a spot size five to seven times smaller than broad-beam lasers, the laser beam is fired in a precise computer-controlled pattern, resulting in an extremely smooth ablation profile. An additional benefit of LADARVision is that it already incorporates the same laser technology deemed essential for wave-front driven customized ablations. Barton said, "Our laser is the only one currently being used in United States clinical trials for wavefront-driven customized ablations. This means that Novamed will not have to change their laser platform to achieve the benefits of wave-front driven customized ablations in the future."