SOURCE: Diamond Vision

January 04, 2007 15:52 ET

"Bladeless" IntraLase LASIK Adopted by U.S. Military

Diamond Vision Medical Director Steven Stetson, MD, Confirms Superior Results With Procedure

GREENWICH, CT -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 4, 2007 -- IntraLase Corp. announced recently that it has won a Department of Defense deal where all branches of the military will use the IntraLase vision correction method.

The five-year contract with the Defense Logistics Agency is valued at up to $45 million. The federal agency said it will use the IntraLase method for the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. On December 11th, 2006, IntraLase Corp. announced the first-time use of its technology on a naval aviator.

"This remarkable endorsement, coming after a thorough process of clinical studies, confirms the advantages of blade-free IntraLase LASIK," said Steven Stetson, MD, who was Medical Director of the U.S. Air Force Academy Laser Eye Clinic before becoming Medical Director of Diamond Vision, the #1 LASIK practice in the New York metropolitan area. Diamond Vision was the first to offer CustomVue IntraLase LASIK in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and to teach it to other doctors.

The IntraLase FS laser is an all-laser, blade-free LASIK procedure that the company says can provide better visual outcomes than rival procedures. More than 1 million LASIK procedures using the IntraLase method have been performed to date.

"As the largest provider of IntraLase LASIK in the New York metropolitan area, we are familiar with the enhanced safety and predictability of this procedure," said Steven Stetson, MD. With IntraLase, the first part of the surgery, the creation of the flap, is no longer done manually, but with a highly predictable, computer-guided laser beam. "Many studies show that patients see better after IntraLase LASIK. Our own Diamond Vision survey showed a four-fold decrease in the need for an additional enhancement procedure after IntraLase," added Stetson. Diamond Vision has seven offices in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Industry Data

According to Market Scope, a St. Louis-based newsletter that specializes in the refractive eye surgery market, LASIK is now the most common elective surgery in the United States and generated $7.1 billion in revenue worldwide in 2006. Every year, approximately 1.4 million refractive procedures are performed with the excimer laser in the U.S. alone.

With 518 lasers installed worldwide as of September 30, 2006, IntraLase Corp. reported approximately 363,000 procedures performed in the first nine months of 2006, representing a near 50 percent increase in volume over the same period in 2005.

About Dr. Stetson

Dr. Stetson is former Medical Director of the U.S. Air Force Academy Laser Center, where he pioneered LASIK and earned numerous awards. Born and raised in Connecticut, Dr. Stetson graduated Cum Laude from Colgate University in New York, and then earned an MD degree with honors at the University Of Vermont College Of Medicine. He distinguished himself again in residency at the Albany Medical Center, where he obtained the highest percentile of senior and first year residents in the Ophthalmology Knowledge Assessment Examinations. Dr. Stetson has performed more then 10,000 refractive surgeries and has been on staff at Diamond Vision since 2003 before becoming Medical Director in 2005.

About Diamond Vision

Headquartered in Greenwich, CT, with offices in Manhattan, Long Island, Northern New Jersey, Westport and Hartford, CT, Diamond Vision is the highest volume provider of IntraLase "blade-free" LASIK in the Northeast. Diamond Vision was an early adopter of IntraLase LASIK thanks to its focus on safety and technological advancement.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Dr. Stetson, contact Diana Federico at 1-800-984-2020.