BIOLASE Technology, Inc. Issued Broad New Patent for Treating Eye Conditions, Including Presbyopia, Cataracts, and Glaucoma

IRVINE, CA--(Marketwire - February 07, 2013) -

BIOLASE, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIOL), the world’s leading manufacturer and distributor of dental lasers, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued BIOLASE a new patent covering the use of its laser technologies for treating various conditions of the eye.

Patent 8,366,702 is titled “Methods for Treating Hyperopia and Presbyopia via Laser Tunneling” and supports the ophthalmic patents previously granted to BIOLASE by expanding the application of the laser to include the architecture and techniques for treating an ocular or related tissue site utilizing laser energy in conjunction with a measuring device capable of facilitating a determination of the thickness of anatomical structure. This new patent covers methods to treat a broad range of eye conditions, including presbyopia, glaucoma, retinal disorders, and cataracts.

This is the fourth U.S. patent issued under the “Methods for Treating Hyperopia and Presbyopia via Laser Tunneling” patent family with an additional three patents issued internationally. BIOLASE currently holds a total of 19 issued and 21 pending U.S. and international patents in seven patent families in the field of ophthalmology. These patents give BIOLASE and its wholly-owned subsidiary, OCCULASE, Inc., the widest range of potential applications and coverage in the field.

Federico Pignatelli, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “This new patent and those currently under application further demonstrate how broad the applications are for our patented laser technologies within ophthalmology. We believe that there is a tremendous financial opportunity to monetize these assets in ophthalmology without diluting our focus in continuing to build our core dental franchise and expanding our position as the world leader in laser dentistry.”

About BIOLASE, Inc.
BIOLASE, Inc. is a biomedical company that develops, manufactures and markets dental lasers and also distributes and markets dental imaging equipment; products that are focused on technologies that advance the practice of dentistry and medicine. The Company’s laser products incorporate approximately 290 patented and patent-pending technologies designed to provide biological treatment and clinically superior performance with less pain and faster recovery times. Its imaging products provide cutting-edge technology at competitive prices to deliver the best results for dentists and patients. BIOLASE’s principal products are dental laser systems that perform a broad range of dental procedures, including cosmetic and complex surgical applications, and a full line of dental imaging equipment and CAD/CAM systems. BIOLASE has sold more than 21,000 lasers.

Other products under development address ophthalmology and other medical and consumer markets.

For updates and information on WaterLase and laser dentistry, find BIOLASE online at www.biolase.com, Facebook at www.facebook.com/biolaseinc, Twitter at twitter.com/biolaseinc, and YouTube at www.youtube.com/biolasevideos.

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Technorati: laser dental laser BIOLASE Medical Technology biomedical