Chokshi and Coluccelli Eye Institute Named “Specialized Astigmatism Center”

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

They are now providing the first comprehensive LASIK treatment of Astigmatism approved by the FDA. Chokshi and Coluccelli Eye Institute is the first practice in Northeast Florida and Southern Georgia to offer Advanced Control Eyetracking (ACE) on its Technolas LASIK platform. Eyetracking allows lasers used during LASIK surgery to compensate for eye movements during the procedure, thus adding an important level of assurance. However, no eyetracker has been able to adjust for subtle rotations of the eye that occur during the laser treatment – that is until now. Since subtle eye movements are common during the LASIK treatment this unique tracking technology ensures that the intended treatment precisely matches the eye’s prescription. This is especially important for patients who have astigmatism in addition to their nearsightedness or farsightedness, which represents the majority of contact lens and spectacle wearers in the U.S.

“Many patients with astigmatism believe that they are not suitable candidates for laser vision correction. With the advent of ACE this is no longer true. We finally have a laser vision correction procedure that is ideally suited for the treatment of astigmatism,” said Dr. Chokshi. “This technology is one of a kind. Rotation of the eye during LASIK could result in less than full correction of astigmatism, which is very common among LASIK patients, and an increased chance of the need for a secondary enhancement procedure.”

“We have always been committed to bringing the latest technology available to Jacksonville. Our LASIK practice has grown because we have been able to provide the best treatments for all of our patients with all prescriptions. This has enabled us to set ourselves apart from our competitors,” says Dr. Chokshi.

Review of Laser Vision Correction Technology Available Today

No other LASIK system available in the US can compensate for eye rotation during the LASIK treatment. Both the Technolas ACE and VISX S4 IR (Abbot Medical Optics, Santa Ana, CA) trackers compensate for the cyclorotation of the eye that can occur between the sitting position during critical diagnostic measurements and lying down on the LASIK bed. However, only the Technolas ACE tracker can adjust the delivery of laser pulses in response to eye rotation during the LASIK treatment. Further, the Technolas ACE system is enabled for both conventional and custom wavefront-guided LASIK treatments, while the VISX S4 IR tracker cannot adjust for cyclotorsion associated with conventional LASIK treatments. The eyetrackers of the Wavelight and Ladarvision lasers (Alcon Laboratories, Fort Worth, TX) cannot compensate for eye rotation at all.

This new eyetracker also doubles the speed of tracking so as to allow the laser to rapidly adjust to the eye’s movements; response time with ACE is now under 7 milliseconds, or 0.007 seconds. ACE also adjusts for the pupil center shifting that can occur between light and dark settings, critical to the proper centering of customized LASIK treatments over the pupil.

For more information, contact the office at 904.346.3506 to schedule your free consultation and see if you could be a candidate.


1. 2008 Presbyopia Report, Market Scope, LLC, St. Louis, MO USA