Accommodating Intraocular Lens Fluid Pumping Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current accommodative intraocular lenses (AIOLs) fail to provide sufficient and continuous accommodation for focusing on both distance and near objects with great optical quality, limiting their effectiveness in vision correction.
Innovation Solution
An AIOL assembly featuring an inflatable member with non-zero optical power, an extra-capsular-bag interface structure with a less-rigid and more-rigid portion, and a fluid-filled conduit system that changes the inflatable member's inflation level in response to ocular movement, allowing for adjustable optical power and positioning to mimic natural lens accommodation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an accommodative intraocular lens is implanted to restore natural lens curvature change, then optical power can be adjusted for near and far vision, but current designs fail to provide sufficient and continuous accommodation with great optical quality
Solution Approach 1:
The lens incorporates an inflatable member that can dynamically change its curvature by adjusting the volume of fluid injected into it. This allows the lens to transition between different optical power states (flat for distance vision, curved for near vision) continuously, restoring natural accommodation capability while maintaining optical quality through controlled fluid injection.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the physical state of the lens by controlling the volume of fluid in the inflatable member. By varying the fluid volume, the lens curvature and optical power are adjusted continuously, enabling sufficient accommodation range while maintaining great optical quality through precise parameter control.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a fluid-filled system is used to change lens curvature, then continuous accommodation is achieved, but the device complexity increases with additional components like conduits and fluid reservoirs
Solution Approach 1:
The inflatable member is integrated within the lens structure itself, with the fluid reservoir and conduits forming part of the lens assembly. This nested configuration allows the fluid-filled system to change lens curvature for continuous accommodation while minimizing additional external components and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the optical function with the accommodation mechanism by integrating the inflatable member directly into the lens structure. The fluid system, conduits, and reservoir are combined with the lens body, achieving continuous accommodation while simplifying the overall device architecture.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the lens is designed to change curvature for near vision, then accommodation for close objects is restored, but the lens profile increases making it less suitable for implantation
Solution Approach 1:
The lens uses a dynamic inflatable member that can be deflated to a minimal profile for implantation and then inflated to the required curvature for near vision. This allows the lens to provide near vision capability when needed while maintaining a low profile during implantation and when distance vision is required.
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable member is positioned to affect only the central curvature of the lens needed for accommodation, while the periphery remains relatively flat. This localized curvature change provides near vision capability without significantly increasing the overall lens profile, making it suitable for implantation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables patients to achieve sharp vision for both near and far objects without glasses by exploiting the natural accommodation mechanism, providing a low-profile solution that can change optical power by up to two diopters or more, suitable for various patient types including presbyopic patients.
Implementation Method 1
the less-rigid portion is responsive to movement of the ocular structure to apply a pumping force on the fluid to cause the fluid to flow via the at least one conduit to the inflatable member
Implementation Method 2
inflation of the inflatable member changes a curvature only over a sub-portion of the lens surface
Data Source
AI summary
An accommodating intraocular lens (AIOL) assembly (10) including an optics assembly (12) including an inflatable member (14), and characterized by an extra-capsular-bag interface structure (16) for interfacing with ocular structure of an eye external to a capsular bag for implanting the AIOL (10) outside the capsular bag, the extra-capsular-bag interface structure (16) including a less-rigid portion (18) and a more-rigid portion (20) that define a volume therebetween which is at least partially filled with a fluid (22) and which is in fluid communication with the inflatable member (14) via at least one conduit (24), and wherein the less-rigid portion (18) is responsive to movement of the ocular structure to apply a pumping force on the fluid (22) to cause the fluid (22) to flow via the at least one conduit (24) to the inflatable member (14) so as to change the optical power of the optics assembly (12).