Irradiation system for two-photon induced activation of agents in novel intraocular lenses

This paper presents a newly designed irradiation system for the photochemically triggered two-photon activation of an agent loaded in novel intraocular lenses. After activation, this agent suppresses the formation of after-cataract, a very common disease after the treatment of an eye cataract by implanting an intraocular lens. For this application, intrinsic safety is also important: the laser radiation is applied to one of the most light-sensitive organs: the eye. This has to be taken into account during development of the system. Moreover, the activation uses a two-photon process so a relatively small laser focus is required. To address these issues in combination with economic requirements, a mirror based objective was designed and built, specifically tailored to these needs. Besides the laser beam guidance elements, the irradiation system consists of a camera based monitoring module and an illumination unit. While the first part of the paper shows the design of the system, the second part presents the results of the characterization of the system. The paper closes with a conclusion and an outlook discussing what further development is needed to prepare the system for treatments of human eyes.