in fig2 there will now be shown and described , by way of example and not by limitation , a thermokeratoplasty system 200 that operates by sensing a physical variable in an eye and providing sensed feedback affecting a vision correction modality . a physician or other medical worker manually accesses an interface device 202 , such as a computer keyboard , that facilitates the selection and / or initiation of a treatment modality . the interface device 202 may request manual input , such as a predetermined amount of diopter correction that is required for a particular patient , baseline measurements of physical variables , astigmatism measurements , wavelength of microwave radiation , intensity of microwave radiation , selection of a treatment modality by specific selection or class of modality , and / or goals for adjusted physical variables obtainable as a result of treatment . a programmable controller 204 accepts program instructions that optionally access user input data or program selections from the interface device 202 and causes system 200 to implement a selected vision correction modality . setup verification in step 206 may be a user - interactive process that verifies the modality and assures that system 200 is correctly positioned or configured for thermokeratoplasty operations . once setup is verified , a generator , such as microwave generator 208 , produces energy that is useful for thermokeratoplasty purposes and supplies this energy , e . g ., in the form of microwave energy , to an applicator 210 . a near - microwave emission of 915 mhz ( approved by the fcc for medical use ) is preferred to reduce system cost ; however , the microwave generator 208 may be operated at other any frequencies , such as 2450 mhz , that are conventionally used and understood to have therapeutic benefits according to a desired modality . in turn , applicator 210 produces corresponding near - field effects 212 in cornea 214 of eye 216 . the cornea 212 and eye 216 inherently have one or more variable physical properties ( i . e ., physical variables ) that may be affected by the microwave or radiofrequency near - field effects 212 and the consequent temperature elevation . these physical variables may be measured by a sensor 218 to provide a sensor signal 220 that embodies a direct or indirect measurement of the physical variables . processing circuitry 222 may receive the signal 220 and analyze the same to determine if and when the modality has achieved a desired effect that is relevant to the intended or planned outcome of the modality . processing circuitry 222 may generate a stop signal 224 that terminates treatment when the physical variable has been modified to within a predetermined range or value . sensor 218 for use with the applicator 210 may be one or more of the sensors described above , such as : a mechanical transducer , such as a piezoresistive or piezoelectric device , or a force - sensitive quartz resonator that quantifies corneal elongation or internal pressure . in one embodiment , a safety mechanism is built into program instructions for controller 204 as a clock - based maximum time override 226 that generates a stop signal 228 at the termination of a safe time interval for the selected modality . this feature may assure that operation of the microwave generator 206 does not exceed a specified amount of time at any given level of output and is intended to avoid thermal damage to the corneal epithelium , and especially the endothelium . most types of microwave thermokeratoplasty applicators 210 may be used generally in the aforementioned system 200 , provided the applicator is fitted with the sensor 218 . fig3 depicts a side elevation midsectional view of a cylindrical applicator 300 that contains several improvements over the applicator 100 of fig1 . one such improvement is , for example , the absence of a flow gap between cornea 302 and a bottom surface 304 of applicator 300 , such that no coolant circulates below applicator 300 or in the lower region 305 , e . g ., the bottom ten percent or so of applicator 300 proximate to cornea 302 . in one embodiment , an outer insulated microwave - conductive tube 306 circumscribes an inner insulated tube 308 that is also microwave conductive . tubes 306 and 308 are concentric . a dielectric material 310 may separate tube 306 from tube 308 . the spacing between tubes 306 and 308 controls penetration depth of microwave energy according to established microwave field theory . in one embodiment , chambers 312 , 314 , and 316 , are configured for bidirectional coolant flow providing a predetermined amount of cooling from coolant ( e . g ., coolant 112 , fig1 ). such flow is optionally regulated by controller 204 ( see fig2 ) to achieve a maximum temperature at mid - depth in cornea 302 , for example , according to established thermal flux theory . a bottom dielectric layer 318 may protect cornea 302 from deleterious temperature effects of electrical conduction current that , otherwise , would flow into cornea 302 from the tubes 306 and 308 . the bottom dielectric layer 318 may separate bottom surface 304 from cornea 302 . the dielectric layer 318 may be thin enough to minimize interference with microwave emissions and thick enough to prevent superficial deposition of electrical energy by flow of conduction current ; superficial flow of a conduction current could interfere with the goal of achieving a mid - depth maximum temperature in cornea 302 . by way of example , the dielectric layer 318 may be a biocompatible material , such as teflon , deposited to a thickness of about 0 . 002 inches . alternatively , the dielectric layer 318 may be a thermal conductor , such as hard - coat anodizing . the sensor 218 ( shown in fig2 ) may be a type of sensor described above , and may , for example , comprise embedded microelectronic devices 320 , 322 and / or 324 in the tubes 306 and 308 , devices such as sensors 326 and / or 328 embedded in the dielectric material 310 , or optional separate sensors such as sensor 330 deployed outside of applicator 300 . alternatively , the dielectric layer 318 is , for example , a grid of thin film transducers each operating as a wheatstone bridge . where the applicator 300 is deployed with axis of symmetry 332 over a pupil , a transparent window 334 may be used to quantify the refractive effect of treatment with optical instrumentation , such as a videokeratoscope . in one embodiment , vacuum passages 336 and 338 pass through the dielectric material 310 , and connect to a vacuum source 340 for purposes of enhancing retention of applicator 300 in a fixed position relative to cornea 302 during treatment . in alternative embodiments , a liquid coolant is not required . chambers 312 , 314 , and 364 may be filled with a heat sink in thermal communication with an optional thermoelectric cooler device 342 that operates , for example , using a peltier effect under the control of controller 204 . [ 0038 ] fig4 is a top midsectional view of applicator 300 . each of the tubes 306 and 308 may be divided into a plurality of discrete sectors or sections , which in fig4 are quartile sections of coaxial extension , such as quartile sections 400 , 402 , 404 , and 406 in the case of tube 306 . each of these sections 400 - 406 may be separately coupled with controller 204 ( shown in fig2 ) for individual operation where , for example , microwave radiation of different intensity , duty cycle , waveform , frequency , or duration may be applied to any one section , or the sections 400 - 406 may be driven wholly or partially in unison . there may be any number of sections separated by dielectric material 310 and any number of concentric tubes , such as tubes 306 and 308 . the capability to drive discrete sections facilitates treatment of native astigmatism in the patient , and it offers further capacity not heretofore found , which is to provide modalites that are custom tailored to address a variety of diopter adjustments in optimized fashion by selectively providing more or less treatment energy to sections in a radially outboard pattern . [ 0039 ] fig5 is a side elevation midsectional view of a cylindrical microwave or radiofrequency thermokeratoplasty applicator 500 that may be used in place of applicator 300 . an outer insulated electrically - conductive tube 502 may circumscribe an inner telescoping insulated tube 504 that is also electrically - conductive . inner tube 504 may be formed in at least two telescoping sections 506 and 508 that are in electrical contact with one another . the tubes 502 and 504 may be concentric . a dielectric material 510 may separate tube 502 from section 508 . the spacing between tubes 502 and 504 controls penetration depth of microwave or radio - frequency energy according to established microwave and radio - frequency field theory . generally , the near - field effects produce localized heating effects on corneal tissue without producing a radiation wave that is capable of heating the corneal endothelium to a point of damage . chambers 512 , 514 , and 516 are configured for bidirectional coolant flow ( e . g ., as flow 518 ) generally as described with respect to applicator 300 . an annular air gap 520 may surround the telescoping tube 504 . bottom surfaces 522 and 524 may be rounded to conform with an eye , e . g ., generally to conform with a spherical shape established by ball - milling processes . for one embodiment , bottom surfaces 522 and 524 are coated with a material 526 that is both dielectric and heat conductive , such as teflon powder coating material , or anodizing material . the material 526 may protect cornea 528 from deleterious temperature effects of electrical conduction current that , otherwise , would flow into cornea 528 from the tubes 502 and 504 , according to principles described generally above with respect to applicator 300 . section 504 may telescope axially over section 506 , as shown by a double - headed arrow 530 , to assure that material 526 is positioned in full contact with cornea 528 . this sliding action may be facilitated by gravity or positive pressure exerted by coolant flowing in chamber 516 . a vacuum pump 532 may also be used to exert a mild vacuum within chamber 516 to force this contact . alternatively , a screw mechanism ( not shown ) may be positioned in air gap 520 to provide fixed and repeatable adjustments to the height of section 504 . applicator 500 can include a sensor , e . g ., sensor 218 , which can , for example , include outside sensors 534 deployed outside of applicator 500 and / or embedded sensor devices not shown in fig5 . a second sensing device 536 may be used to sense whether full contact exists between the tubes 502 , 504 , and the cornea 528 . coroneal tissue contains relatively high amounts of water and is conductive . thus , a voltage v applied to outer tube 502 may be sensed by the second sensing device 536 as a resistance or capacitance . the magnitude of resistance or capacitance may be correlated to the amount of contact between applicator 500 and cornea 528 . a signal from the second sensor 536 may be used as part of the feedback system through processor circuitry 222 ( fig2 ) or may be operated independently of the feedback system and used solely as a means to assure contact between applicator 500 and cornea 528 . since certain changes may be made in the above methods and systems without departing from the scope hereof , it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense . it is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover generic and specific features described herein , and all statements of the scope of the invention which , as a matter of language , might be said to fall there between .
a microwave thermokeratoplasty system uses an applicator having embedded sensors that provide feedback signals to a controller . the controller interprets these feedback signals to dynamically adjust or cease a keratoplasty operation . the system uses a microwave applicator that is specially adapted for direct application of energy to an eye in the course of treatment . the applicator is formed of discrete zones or sectors that are selectively controlled in an individual manner .