Injector for inserting an intraocular lens, comprising a cartridge with a barrier

Abstract

The invention relates to an injector (1) for inserting an intraocular lens (20) into the capsular bag of an eye, comprising a cartridge (2) and a drive (10) which have a decoupled state, in which the cartridge and the drive are separate from each other, and a coupled state, in which the cartridge and the drive are coupled to each other, and having an insertion direction (9) in which the intraocular lens can be inserted into the capsular bag. The cartridge has a cartridge housing (3), which delimits an interior (4) of the cartridge in the radial direction (17) in relation to the insertion direction, a cartridge plunger (5), which delimits the interior opposite the insertion direction, a cartridge axial bearing (6), by means of which the cartridge plunger is movably mounted in the longitudinal direction, and a barrier (8), which is designed to block, in the coupled state, the flow of a fluid from the interior (4) into the drive (10) and / or vice versa. The drive (10) has a drive plunger (11), which is movably mounted in the longitudinal direction in the drive and is designed to move the cartridge plunger in the insertion direction in the coupled state in that the drive plunger contacts the cartridge plunger and thus moves same directly or via the barrier or via a fixed component, and the cartridge plunger is designed to move the intraocular lens out of the interior and out of the injector.

Description

[0001]Injector for inserting an intraocular lens, comprising a cartridge with a barrier. The invention relates to an injector for inserting an intraocular lens. During cataract treatment, a cut is conventionally made in the cornea of ​​the eye that is large enough to allow a cannula to be inserted through the cut into the eye. After the cut has been made in the cornea, the lens of the eye is crushed, for example by means of phacoemulsification, and then suctioned out of the capsular bag of the eye. An intraocular lens is then inserted into the capsular bag using an injector. After cataract treatment, the injector is disposed of. However, this disadvantageously leads to a large amount of waste. The use of a reusable injector would therefore be advantageous.However, during the reprocessing process between cataract treatments for different patients, inadequate sterilization and thus possible cross-contamination of germs / pathogens originating from the injector can occur. The object of the invention is therefore to create an injector for inserting an intraocular lens into the capsular bag of an eye, wherein the injector generates only a small amount of waste and cross-contamination between a reprocessed injector and a patient is avoided. The injector according to the invention for inserting an intraocular lens into the capsular bag of an eye has a cartridge, a drive, and an insertion direction. The cartridge and the drive have a decoupling state in which the cartridge and the drive are arranged separately from one another, and a coupling state in which the cartridge and the drive are coupled to one another.The intraocular lens is to be inserted into the capsular bag in the insertion direction. The cartridge has a cartridge housing that delimits an interior of the cartridge in a radial direction relative to the insertion direction, a cartridge piston that delimits the interior counter to the insertion direction, and a cartridge axial bearing by means of which the cartridge piston is mounted for longitudinal displacement. In addition, the cartridge has a barrier that is configured, in the coupled state, to block a flow of a fluid from the interior into the drive and / or from the drive into the interior. The drive has a drive piston that is mounted for longitudinal displacement in the drive and is configured, in the coupled state, to displace the cartridge piston in the insertion direction by the drive piston contacting the cartridge piston or displacing it indirectly via the barrier or via a fixed component.The cartridge piston is designed to move the intraocular lens from the interior and out of the injector. To perform cataract treatment, it is conceivable to move the cartridge and drive from the uncoupled state to the coupled state. The intraocular lens can be inserted into the interior. If the cartridge is pre-loaded, this can be done during cartridge manufacture, so that the operating staff performing the cataract treatment only needs to establish the coupling state. If the cartridge is not pre-loaded, the operating staff only needs to insert the intraocular lens into the cartridge. After cataract treatment, the cartridge and drive can be returned to the uncoupled state. The cartridge can be disposed of, whereas it is conceivable to sterilize the drive and reuse it in a subsequent cataract treatment.This advantageously results in only a small amount of waste. In the event that the drive is not fully sterilized, contamination of the interior emanating from the drive and thus contamination of the intraocular lens can be advantageously avoided by providing the barrier in the cartridge. It is preferred that the cartridge is a disposable component and the drive is a reusable component. The barrier preferably has a membrane. By means of the membrane, the flow of fluid originating from the interior into the drive and / or from the drive to the interior can be completely blocked in the coupled state. This allows contamination of the intraocular lens to be particularly reliably avoided. It is preferred that the membrane is arranged in the insertion direction between the drive piston and the cartridge piston in the coupled state.It is preferred that, in the coupling state, the membrane has a starting state in which the cartridge piston is arranged in its starting position and an end state in which the cartridge piston has displaced the intraocular lens out of the injector, wherein the membrane is less wavy in the end state than in the starting state. Alternatively or additionally, it is preferred that in the end state, the membrane is more stretched than in the starting state. It is preferred that the cartridge axial bearing has an internal thread and the cartridge piston has an external thread that engages with the internal thread, whereby the barrier is formed by the internal thread and the external thread.The internal thread and the external thread, which engage with each other, act like a labyrinth seal, sufficiently blocking the flow of fluid so that no fluid, or only a very small amount, reaches the drive during the entire displacement of the intraocular lens, thus preventing backflow during the application time. This reliably prevents contamination of the intraocular lens. The drive piston is preferably configured to be set in rotation when the drive piston is displaced longitudinally. The drive piston is also configured to transfer the rotation of the drive piston into a rotation of the cartridge piston.The cartridge axial bearing preferably has a plurality of lamellae that contact the cartridge piston, or the cartridge piston preferably has a plurality of lamellae that contact the cartridge axial bearing, the lamellae forming the barrier. Through contact, the lamellae reduce the sealing gap so much that a sealing effect is achieved. A repeated arrangement of the lamellae reinforces this effect and thus increases functional reliability. The cartridge preferably has a sealing ring that surrounds the cartridge piston on the outside and forms the barrier. It is preferred that the sealing ring contacts the cartridge axial bearing on the outside in the radial direction and the cartridge piston on the inside in the radial direction.Alternatively, it is preferred that the cartridge has a tube and a further sealing ring which forms the barrier, wherein the tube is arranged so as to be longitudinally displaceable on the cartridge axial bearing, wherein the sealing ring contacts the cartridge axial bearing on the outside in the radial direction and the tube on the inside in the radial direction, wherein the cartridge piston is arranged within the tube and so as to be longitudinally displaceable relative to the tube, and the further sealing ring is arranged on the outside of the cartridge piston in the radial direction and on the inside of the tube in the radial direction. This creates a telescopic arrangement in which the sealing ring and the further sealing ring together form the barrier. It is also conceivable for several of the tubes and for each of the tubes to be provided with a respective further sealing ring, wherein all of the sealing rings form the barrier.A length of an annular gap arranged between the cartridge piston and the cartridge axial bearing, oriented in the direction of insertion, and a width of the annular gap are preferably dimensioned such that the barrier is formed. The labyrinth seal and the annular gap can, for example, be designed such that, during the entire displacement of the intraocular lens, the fluid that was arranged in the region of the cartridge axial bearing before the start of the displacement can enter the drive but cannot pass from there back into the interior. The injector preferably has the intraocular lens, wherein the intraocular lens is arranged in the interior. The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached schematic drawings.5 shows a longitudinal section through a section of a fifth embodiment of the injector, and Figure 6 shows a longitudinal section through a section of a sixth embodiment of the injector. As can be seen from Figures 1 to 3 and 6, an injector 1 for inserting an intraocular lens 20 into the capsular bag of an eye has a cartridge 2, a drive 10, and an insertion device 9.The cartridge 2 and the drive 10 have a decoupling state in which the cartridge 2 and the drive 10 are arranged separately from one another, and a coupling state (see Figures 1 to 3 and 6) in which the cartridge 2 and the drive 10 are coupled to one another. The intraocular lens 20 is to be inserted into the capsular bag in the insertion direction 9. The cartridge 2 has a cartridge housing 3 that delimits an interior 4 of the cartridge 2 in a radial direction 17 relative to the insertion direction 9, a cartridge piston 5 that delimits the interior 4 counter to the insertion direction 9, and a cartridge axial bearing 6 by means of which the cartridge piston 5 is mounted for longitudinal displacement. In addition, the injector 1 has a barrier 8 (see Figures 1 to 6) which is designed to block, in the coupling state, a flow of a fluid from the interior space into the drive and / or from the drive 10 into the interior space 4.The drive 10 has a drive piston 11, which is arranged so as to be longitudinally displaceable in the drive 10 and is configured, in the coupled state, to displace the cartridge piston 5 in the insertion direction 9 by the drive piston 11 contacting the cartridge piston 5 and thus displacing it directly (cf. Figures 3 and 6) or indirectly via the barrier 8 (cf. Figures 1 and 2) or via a fixed component. The fixed component can be, for example, another piston. The cartridge piston 5 is configured to displace the intraocular lens 20 out of the interior space 4 and out of the injector 1. For this purpose, the cartridge piston 5 can contact the intraocular lens 20 during its displacement. It is conceivable that the cartridge piston 5 has a cartridge piston head 19 at its longitudinal end located in the insertion direction 9, which is designed to contact the intraocular lens 20.The cartridge piston head 19 can be softer than the remaining cartridge piston 5. The cartridge 2 can be a disposable component, and the drive 10 can be a reusable component. It is conceivable that the barrier 8 is configured to block the flow of fluid during the entire displacement of the intraocular lens 20 or to prevent backflow during the application period. It is conceivable that the injector 1 is configured such that the fluid can only enter the interior 4 via an annular gap 43 arranged between the cartridge piston 5 and the cartridge axial bearing 6. Figures 1 to 3 show that the injector 1 can have an injector tip 7, which is to be inserted into an eye during cataract treatment. The cartridge 2 may have a first opening 15 which is delimited by the injector tip 7 and via which the intraocular lens 20 is to be displaced from the injector 1 by the cartridge piston 5.In addition, the cartridge 2 can have a second opening 16, which is arranged facing away from the first opening 15 and through which the fluid can enter the cartridge 2 from the drive 10 in the coupled state. It is conceivable that in the coupled state, the drive piston 11 extends through the second opening 16, see Figures 1 to 3 and 6. The drive 10 can have a drive axial bearing 12, by means of which the drive piston 11 is mounted for longitudinal displacement. As can be seen from Figures 1 to 3 and 6, in the coupled state, the cartridge 2 and the drive 10 can contact each other. In one example, the drive 10 may have a recess 13 into which the cartridge 2 is inserted in the coupled state, see Figures 1 to 3 and 6. In another example, the cartridge 2 may have a recess into which the drive 10 is inserted in the coupled state. Figures 1 and 2 show that the barrier 8 may have a membrane 30.The membrane 30 can be arranged such that all fluid escaping into the cartridge 2 via the second opening 16 is blocked by the membrane 30. For this purpose, the membrane 30 can be fully secured to the inside of the cartridge housing 3 in a circumferential direction 18 relative to the insertion direction 9. It is conceivable that the membrane 30, as also shown in Figures 1 and 2, is arranged in the coupled state in the insertion direction 9 between the drive piston 11 and the cartridge piston 5. The membrane 30 can be secured to the cartridge piston 5 (see Figure 1) or not secured to the cartridge piston 5 (see Figure 2).In the coupled state, the membrane 30 has a starting state, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, in which the cartridge piston 5 is arranged in its starting position, and an end state in which the cartridge piston 5 has displaced the intraocular lens 20 out of the injector 1 and the cartridge piston 5 is arranged in the insertion direction 9 in a position in which the injector tip 7 is also arranged. Figure 1 shows that the membrane 30 can be less wavy in the end state than in the starting state. Figure 2 shows that the membrane 30 can be more stretched in the end state than in the starting state. However, a combination is also conceivable in which the membrane 30 is less wavy and more stretched in the end state than in the starting state.As can be seen from Figure 3, the cartridge axial bearing 6 can have an internal thread 31, and the cartridge piston 5 can have an external thread 32 that engages with the internal thread 31, whereby the barrier 8 is formed by the internal thread 31 and the external thread 32. The drive piston 11 can be configured to rotate the drive piston 11 when the drive piston 11 is longitudinally displaced. Furthermore, the drive piston 11 can be configured to transmit the rotation of the drive piston 11 into a rotation of the cartridge piston 5. For this purpose, the cartridge piston 5 can have a piston recess 14 into which the longitudinal end of the drive piston 11 located in the insertion direction 9 can engage. When the drive piston 11 engages the piston recess 14, the rotation of the drive piston 11 can be transmitted into the rotation of the cartridge piston 5.For this purpose, the piston recess 14 can, for example, have the shape of a slot or a square shape. It is conceivable that the cartridge piston head 19 is rotatably attached to the remaining cartridge piston 5. This can ensure that the cartridge piston head 19 does not rotate or only rotates slightly when the cartridge piston head 19 displaces the intraocular lens 20. Figure 4 shows that the cartridge piston 5 can have a plurality of lamellae 33 that are attached externally to the cartridge piston 5 and contact the cartridge axial bearing 6, wherein the lamellae 33 form the barrier 8. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the cartridge axial bearing 6 can have a plurality of lamellae 33 that are attached to the cartridge axial bearing 6 and contact the cartridge piston 5, wherein the lamellae 33 form the barrier 8.Figures 5 and 6 show that the cartridge 2 can have a sealing ring 34 that surrounds the cartridge piston 5 on the outside and forms the barrier 8. A fully circumferential groove 36, in which the sealing ring 34 is arranged, can be arranged in the cartridge axial bearing 6 (see Figure 5). Figure 5 shows that the sealing ring 34 can contact the cartridge axial bearing 6 on the outside in the radial direction 17 and the cartridge piston 5 on the inside in the radial direction 17. Figure 6 shows that the cartridge piston 5 can be part of a telescopic arrangement 37. For this purpose, the cartridge 2 can have a tube 39 and a further sealing ring 35 that forms the barrier 8. The tube 39 can be arranged on the cartridge axial bearing 6 so that it can be displaced longitudinally. The sealing ring 34 can contact the cartridge axial bearing 6 on the outside in the radial direction 17 and the tube 39 on the inside in the radial direction 17.The cartridge piston 5 can be arranged within the tube 39 and can be longitudinally displaceable relative to the tube 39. The further sealing ring 35 can be arranged outside of the cartridge piston 5 in the radial direction 17 and inside of the tube 39 in the radial direction 17. In the case shown in Figure 6, in which the telescopic arrangement 37 has only a single tube, the further sealing ring 35 can contact the tube 39 outside in the radial direction 17 and contact the cartridge piston 5 inside in the radial direction 17. The cartridge piston 5 can have a piston stop 42 which projects outwards from the cartridge piston 5 in the radial direction 17 and which is designed to entrain the further sealing ring 35 when the cartridge piston 5 is displaced in the insertion direction 9.The tube 39 can have a first tube stop 40 which protrudes inward from the tube 39 in the radial direction 17, wherein the further sealing ring 35 is configured to abut against the first tube stop 40 when the further sealing ring 35 is carried along in the insertion direction 9. This can limit a displacement of the cartridge piston 5 in the insertion direction 9. The tube 39 can have a second tube stop 41 which is configured to carry the sealing ring 34 when the tube 39 is moved in the insertion direction 9. The cartridge axial bearing 6 can have a stop 38, wherein the sealing ring 34 is configured to abut against the stop 38 when the sealing ring 34 is carried along in the insertion direction 9. This can limit a displacement of the tube 39 in the insertion direction 9. It is conceivable that a length of the annular gap 43 oriented in the insertion direction 9 (cf.Figure 1) and a width of the annular gap 43 are dimensioned such that the barrier 8 is formed. The injector 1 can have the intraocular lens 20, and the intraocular lens 20 can be arranged in the interior space 4. The intraocular lens 1 can have an optical body 21 and a haptic 22. List of reference symbols 1 Injector 2 Cartridge 3 Cartridge housing 4 Interior 5 Cartridge piston 6 Cartridge axial bearing 7 Injector tip 8 Barrier 9 Insertion direction 10 Drive 11 Drive piston 12 Drive axial bearing 13 Recess 14 Piston recess 15 First opening 16 Second opening 17 Radial direction 18 Circumferential direction 19 Cartridge piston head 20 Intraocular lens 21 Optic body 22 Haptic 30 Membrane 31 Internal thread 32 External thread 33 Lamella 34 Sealing ring 35 Further sealing ring 36 Groove 37 Telescopic arrangement 38 Stop 39 Tube 40 First tube stop 41 Second tube stop 42 Piston stop 43 Annular gap.

Claims

1. An injector for inserting an intraocular lens (20) into the capsular bag of an eye, comprising a cartridge (2) and a drive (10), which have a decoupling state in which the cartridge (2) and the drive (10) are arranged separately from one another, and a coupling state in which the cartridge (2) and the drive (10) are coupled to one another, as well as an insertion direction (9) in which the intraocular lens (20) is to be inserted into the capsular bag, wherein the cartridge (2) comprises a cartridge housing (3) which delimits an interior space (4) of the cartridge (2) in a radial direction (17) relative to the insertion direction (9), a cartridge piston (5) which delimits the interior space (4) opposite to the insertion direction (9), and a cartridge axial bearing (6) by means of which the cartridge piston (5) is mounted so as to be longitudinally displaceable, as well as a barrier (8) which is set up,in the coupled state, to block a flow of a fluid originating from the interior space (4) into the drive (10) and / or originating from the drive (10) into the interior space (4), wherein the drive (10) has a drive piston (11) which is mounted in the drive (10) for longitudinal displacement and is configured to displace the cartridge piston (5) in the insertion direction (9) in the coupled state by the drive piston (11) contacting the cartridge piston (5) and thus displacing it directly or indirectly via the barrier (8) or via a fixed component, wherein the cartridge piston (5) is configured to displace the intraocular lens (20) out of the interior space (4) and out of the injector (1).

2. Injector according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge (2) is a disposable component and the drive (10) is a reusable component.

3. Injector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the barrier (8) comprises a membrane (30).

4. The injector according to claim 3, wherein the membrane (30) is arranged between the drive piston (11) and the cartridge piston (5) in the coupling state in the insertion direction (9).

5. The injector according to one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cartridge axial bearing (6) has an internal thread (31) and the cartridge piston (5) has an external thread (32) that engages with the internal thread (31), whereby the barrier (8) is formed by the internal thread (31) and the external thread (32).

6. The injector according to one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the cartridge axial bearing (6) has a plurality of lamellae (33) that contact the cartridge piston (5), or the cartridge piston (5) has a plurality of lamellae (33) that contact the cartridge axial bearing (6), the lamellae (33) forming the barrier (8).The injector according to one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cartridge (2) has a sealing ring (34) that externally surrounds the cartridge piston (5) and forms the barrier (8).

8. The injector according to claim 7, wherein the sealing ring (34) contacts the cartridge axial bearing (6) on the outside in the radial direction (17) and the cartridge piston (5) on the inside in the radial direction (17).

9. Injector according to claim 7, wherein the cartridge (2) has a tube (39) and a further sealing ring (35) which forms the barrier (8), wherein the tube (39) is arranged so as to be longitudinally displaceable on the cartridge axial bearing (6), wherein the sealing ring (34) contacts the cartridge axial bearing (6) on the outside in the radial direction (17) and the tube (39) on the inside in the radial direction (17), wherein the cartridge piston (5) is arranged inside the tube (39) and so as to be longitudinally displaceable relative to the tube (39) and the further sealing ring (35) in the. Radial direction (17) is arranged outside of the cartridge piston (5) and in the radial direction (17) inside of the tube (39).

10. Injector according to one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a length, oriented in the insertion direction (9), of an annular gap (43) arranged between the cartridge piston (5) and the cartridge axial bearing (6) and a width of the annular gap (43) are dimensioned such that the barrier (8) is formed.

Images