Method of Cutting Implant Cartridge for Treating Macular Degeneration

Abstract

In a method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating hemorrhage, a plurality of cartridges are supplied in a bulk state to a vibrating feeder, and one of the cartridges is discharged from the vibrating feeder. Subsequently, the cartridge is cut using a laser to form a unit having a specific length, and the unit is loaded onto a tray. Thus, the implant cartridge for treating hemorrhage can be easily cut into a unit using a laser.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration, and more specifically, to a method for cutting an implant cartridge, which is used to insert an implant mixed with a biodegradable resin and a therapeutic agent into a human eye to treat macular degeneration, into units having a micro length. Background Technology

[0002] The neural tissue located at the center of the inner retina of the eye is called the macula. Since the majority of photoreceptor cells are concentrated here and the image of an object is formed at the center of the macula, the macula plays a crucial role in vision. Macular degeneration is a disease in which vision declines as the function of the macula deteriorates due to aging, genetic factors, toxicity, inflammation, etc., and in severe cases, can lead to complete loss of vision.

[0003] Methods used to treat macular degeneration include taking medication, radiation therapy, antibody injections, and steroid injections. The most widely used treatment for macular degeneration is antibody injection therapy. This method involves injecting anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) antibodies into the eye to induce the regression of neovascularization without destroying retinal photoreceptor cells, thereby improving vision.

[0004] Injectable drug treatments are divided into fixed treatment, where injections are administered once every one to two months, and personalized treatment, where injections are given only when vision deteriorates after monthly checkups; however, personalized treatment presents the difficulty of requiring about 6 to 8 injections per year.

[0005] In addition, since antibody injection therapy requires direct injection into the eye, there are problems such as significant discomfort for the patient and the procedure not being simple.

[0006] To alleviate this inconvenience, a method using sustained-release formulations has recently been employed. When an implant made by mixing a therapeutic drug with a biodegradable resin is inserted into a patient's eye, continuous and quantitative drug release over a long period is possible with just a single insertion, which is very advantageous in terms of time and cost and can also reduce the patient's pain.

[0007] While such drug-assisted implants offer excellent functionality, they have the problem of being small in size, having low strength, and being highly brittle, causing them to break easily even under small forces.

[0008] Therefore, a method was needed to manufacture an implant having the characteristics described above into a cartridge form by inserting it into a very small, needle-shaped, slender cannula with an outer diameter of within several hundred micrometers.

[0009] When an implant cartridge of this type is manufactured, it is used as a means to treat macular degeneration by inserting the implant into the patient's eye using a separate surgical tool. In order to insert the implant into the surgical tool, it is necessary to cut the implant into a unit having a specific length in the micro-unit range. As a related technology, U.S. Patent Application Publication US2004 / 0089643 (May 13, 2004) is disclosed. The problem to be solved

[0010] Embodiments of the present invention have been devised to address the aforementioned needs and provide a cutting method for cutting an implant cartridge to form a unit having a micro length by cutting an implant formed in a semi-solid state by mixing a therapeutic drug and a biodegradable resin. means of solving the problem

[0011] In the method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration according to the present invention for achieving the above objective, a plurality of cartridges are supplied in a bulk state to a vibrating feeder, and one of the cartridges is discharged from the vibrating feeder. Subsequently, the cartridge is cut using a laser to form a unit having a specific length, and the unit is loaded onto a tray.

[0012] In one embodiment of the present invention, the step of discharging one of the cartridges from the vibrating feeder can cause the vibrating feeder to generate a vibration force and drop the one cartridge downward along the guide hole.

[0013] In one embodiment of the present invention, the laser may have an infrared wavelength and a picosecond pulse duration.

[0014] Here, the laser can utilize a hydrocarbon source.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present invention, the length, diameter, and cross-sectional shape of the unit body can be checked to determine whether it is a good product. To this end, a two-dimensional or three-dimensional vision camera inspection unit may be used. Effects of the invention

[0016] A cutting method for an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration according to embodiments of the present invention effectively cuts an implant cartridge unit having a length in the micro range with high productivity and high quality, thereby producing a micro-sized implant cartridge. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0017] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration according to embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a cutting device for implementing the cutting method of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the cutting unit included in FIG. 2. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vibrating feeder included in the cutting unit of Figure 3. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0018] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below and may be embodied in various other forms. The following embodiments are provided not so as to fully complete the present invention, but rather to sufficiently convey the scope of the present invention to those skilled in the art.

[0019] In embodiments of the present invention, where one element is described as being disposed on or connected to another element, the element may be directly disposed on or connected to the other element, and other elements may be interposed between them. Alternatively, where one element is described as being directly disposed on or connected to another element, there may not be any other elements between them. Terms such as first, second, third, etc., may be used to describe various items such as various elements, compositions, regions, layers, and / or parts, but said items will not be limited by these terms.

[0020] The technical terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are used solely for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. Furthermore, unless otherwise limited, all terms, including technical and scientific terms, have the same meaning as understood by a person skilled in the art with ordinary knowledge in the technical field of the present invention. Such terms, such as those defined in ordinary dictionaries, shall be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology and the description of the present invention, and shall not be interpreted by ideal or overly superficial intuition unless explicitly limited.

[0021] Embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to schematic drawings of ideal embodiments of the present invention. Accordingly, variations from the shapes in the drawings, such as variations in manufacturing methods and / or tolerances, are readily expected. Therefore, embodiments of the present invention are not described as being limited to specific shapes of the regions described in the drawings, but include variations in shapes; the elements described in the drawings are entirely schematic, and their shapes are not intended to describe the exact shapes of the elements, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a flowchart illustrating a cutting method for an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration according to embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a cutting device for implementing the cutting method of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a cutting unit included in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a vibrating feeder included in the cutting unit of FIG. 3.

[0023] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, in a method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration according to embodiments of the present invention, the implant cartridge cutting device (100) for treating macular degeneration cuts the implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration to form a micro-length unit.

[0024] First, a plurality of cartridges are supplied in bulk to a vibrating feeder (121: see FIG. 3 and FIG. 4) (S110). The vibrating feeder (121) may be included in a cutting unit (120) together with a laser cutter.

[0025] The vibrating feeder (121) may include a hopper (122) capable of receiving a cartridge bulk inside, a vibrating motor (124) that provides a vibrating force to the hopper (121), and a guide hole (125a) that is connected to the hopper (121) and extends downward. The guide hole may have a hole diameter that is 10-50% larger than the diameter of the cartridge. Thus, the cartridge (10) can be easily discharged along the guide hole (125a).

[0026] Next, one of the cartridges (10) is discharged from the above-mentioned vibrating feeder (121) (S120).

[0027] The vibration generated by the vibration motor (124) is applied to the cartridge bulks contained in the hopper (121), so that any one of the cartridges (10) can fall downward along the guide hole (125a). Thus, the vibration feeder (121) can automatically supply one implant cartridge to the cutting unit.

[0028] Afterwards, the cartridge is cut using a laser to form a unit having a specific length (S130).

[0029] The non-contact cutting process using the above laser does not require fixing the cartridge during cutting, suppresses residue generated during the cutting process, and does not generate dust, so a dust removal unit can be omitted. In addition, the cutting process can be performed at an improved cutting speed.

[0030] In addition, the laser cutter can be controlled using a servo motor (not shown) or the like to process the cartridge so that the cutting surface of the unit has a desired shape. For example, the cutting surface of the unit can be precisely cut into a wave shape or a V shape.

[0031] Furthermore, by using a laser instead of the conventional blade method, there is no need to replace worn blades, and the cutting process can be effectively performed simply by replenishing the laser source.

[0032] In this case, the laser has an infrared wavelength and can have a picosecond pulse duration.

[0033] In addition, the laser cutter utilizes a dihydrocarbon source. The laser using the carbon dioxide source obtains a density inversion between the vibrational levels of gaseous carbon dioxide and oscillates in the infrared region near 0.20 μm and 10.0 μm. This enables the generation of a high-power laser providing the 0.30 μm and 9.8 μm regions. Since the laser cutter has excellent heat emission efficiency, thermal deformation of the implant cartridge due to high temperature can be suppressed.

[0034] Next, a vision inspection process is additionally performed to determine whether the unit is good by checking its length, diameter, and cross-sectional shape (S135).

[0035] The above vision inspection process can be performed using a 2D vision inspection machine or a 3D vision inspection machine.

[0036] A 2D vision inspection device can verify the length and diameter of the unit. Furthermore, the 3D vision inspection device can determine whether there is a defect in the cut surface of the unit by processing the cut surface of the unit in 3D.

[0037] Next, the unit is loaded onto a tray (S140). In particular, a unit determined to be a good product can be loaded onto the tray. To do this, a picker can pick up a good unit and load it into a pocket formed in the tray. The tray can be unloaded while accommodating a plurality of unit products.

[0038] To implement a cutting method for an implant cartridge for macular degeneration treatment, an implant cartridge cutting device (100) for macular degeneration treatment may be used.

[0039] The cutting device (100) includes a transfer unit (110), a cutting unit (120), a vision inspection unit (130), an unloading unit (160), and a control unit (150) that controls the units.

[0040] The above transfer unit withdraws an implant from a cassette containing a plurality of cartridges and transfers it to an insertion position. The above transfer unit may include, for example, a gripper that grips the implant and transfers it to the cutting unit.

[0041] The cutting unit includes a vibrating feeder and a laser cutter. Meanwhile, the vision inspection unit may include a two-dimensional vision inspection machine or a three-dimensional vision inspection machine.

[0042] The above control unit controls the transfer unit, the cutting unit, and the vision inspection unit, respectively. By particularly controlling the cutting unit, the control unit can easily adjust the length of the unit, the cutting surface, etc. Explanation of the symbols

[0043] 100: Implant cartridge cutting device 110: Transfer unit 120: Cutting unit 121: Vibrating feeder 122: Hopper 125: Guide hole block 125a: Guide hole 130: Vision inspection unit 150: Control Unit 160: Unloading Unit

Claims

Claim 1 A method for cutting a macular degeneration treatment implant cartridge having a brittle or semi-solid state formed by mixing a biodegradable resin and a therapeutic agent into micro-length units, comprising: a step of supplying a plurality of cartridges in a bulk state to a vibrating feeder; a step of discharging one of the cartridges from the vibrating feeder by causing the vibrating feeder to generate a vibrational force and drop one of the cartridges downward along a guide hole; a step of cutting the cartridge using a non-contact laser to suppress breakage and thermal deformation of the brittle or semi-solid implant to form a unit having a specific length; a step of inspecting the length, diameter, and cross-sectional shape of the unit to determine whether it is a good product; and a step of loading the unit determined to be a good product onto a tray. Claim 2 delete Claim 3 A method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration according to claim 1, characterized in that the laser has an infrared wavelength and a picosecond pulse duration. Claim 4 A method for cutting an implant cartridge for treating macular degeneration, characterized in that, in paragraph 3, the laser utilizes a hydrocarbon source. Claim 5 delete

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