USPTO grants IRIDEX patent for MicroPulse technology in laser eye surgery

IRIDEX Corporation (Nasdaq: IRIX) today announced the receipt of issuance of U.S. Patent No. 7,771,417, titled "Laser System with Short Pulse Characteristics And Its Method Of Use." This patent applies to the company's MicroPulse™ technology which provides the ophthalmologist with fine dose control of laser energy during eye surgery. Ophthalmologists are using MicroPulse technology to treat patients suffering from diabetic retinopathy and other sight-threatening retinal and glaucoma disorders. Treatments using MicroPulse technology demonstrate favorable outcomes and significantly less damage to healthy retinal structures compared to traditional continuous wave laser treatment.

"MicroPulse technology enables Tissue Sparing Photocoagulation, a controlled laser dosing approach which induces the long-term benefits of laser procedures with no detectable tissue damaging side effects," commented Theodore A. Boutacoff, President and CEO. "The company has developed this technology over a number of years using infrared laser systems and its clinical efficacy has been reported in over 45 peer reviewed publications. Extending our MicroPulse technology from our infrared laser systems to our visible laser systems and being granted a patent to protect this proprietary technology for visible laser systems is important because the majority of lasers sold today are visible wavelength laser systems."

"It is our profound belief that lasers that support Tissue Sparing Photocoagulation can provide greater benefits to patients than lasers have in the past," continued Mr. Boutacoff, "and consequently lasers will remain the standard of care for the treatment for many ocular disorders."

"Laser products such as our IQ 577 that incorporate MicroPulse control technology covered by this patent have recently been introduced to the market. The first study of the IQ 577 performing a Tissue Sparing Photocoagulation procedure using MicroPulse mode was reported at The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting held earlier this year.  Dr. Andre Maia of the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil reported treating patients with chronic central serous chorio-retinopathy (CSC) using our IQ 577 laser system in MicroPulse mode with the following results: (1) all patients had complete resolution of their symptoms; (2) there was functional visual improvement; and (3) there were no signs of laser marks on the treated areas by clinical examination or fluorescein angiography."