Capsulotomy Device Using Suction Cup and Motorized Cutter
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current microsurgical techniques for accessing the lens capsule in the eye, such as during cataract surgery, face challenges in achieving precise and minimally invasive methods, often resulting in suboptimal outcomes due to difficulties in creating a circular opening of the correct diameter and centering it on the optic axis, which can lead to complications like capsule weakness and improper implantation of intraocular lenses.
Innovation Solution
A microsurgery device with a handpiece featuring a sliding element and a suction cup with a cutting element, allowing for precise deployment through a small corneal incision to create a circular opening in the lens capsule by compressing and expanding within the anterior chamber, minimizing tissue damage and infection risk.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional handheld cutting instruments are used to manually create a capsulotomy, then the surgeon can access the lens capsule, but it is difficult to achieve precise circular opening with correct diameter and centering on the optic axis
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical tracing with a motorized cutting instrument that follows a pre-planned circular path. The motorized system provides consistent rotational motion and cutting force, eliminating the difficulty of manual tracing while maintaining precision through programmed parameters for diameter and centering.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses image capture and processing to create a digital representation of the eye's anatomy. This copied image is then used to plan the capsulotomy path, allowing precise determination of the optic axis and optimal circular opening parameters before actual surgery, thereby improving precision without increasing operational difficulty.
2Ease of operation
If a larger corneal incision is made to facilitate instrument insertion, then instrument access is improved, but the risk of infection and corneal distortion increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a nested design where the motorized cutting instrument and other surgical tools are contained within a delivery catheter. The catheter is inserted through a small corneal incision, and the instruments are deployed from within, allowing full instrument functionality while maintaining a minimal incision size that reduces infection risk and corneal distortion.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical system is divided into separate functional modules (delivery catheter, motorized cutter, image capture device) that can be inserted and deployed independently through a small incision. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while collectively enabling complex surgery through a minimal access point.
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 precise and minimally invasive access to the lens capsule, reducing the risk of infection and corneal distortion, allowing for accurate creation of a circular opening for intraocular lens implantation, thereby improving surgical outcomes.
Implementation Method 1
a suction cup (2) mounted to the sliding element (7) for movement into and out of the handpiece (5)... The suction cup (2) plus cutting element (50) expands inside the anterior chamber for creating an opening in the lens capsule
Data Source
AI summary
A surgical device and procedure are provided for smoothly and easily accessing tissue to perform microsurgery, including a capsulotomy of a lens capsule of an eye. The device includes a handpiece with a tip for insertion into an incision in the cornea of the eye. A sliding element is disposed within the handpiece and a suction cup is mounted to the sliding element. The sliding element can be translated to move the suction cup into and out of the handpiece. A compression mechanism associated with the suction cup and the handpiece compresses the suction cup for deployment through the tip of the handpiece. The suction cup can expand inside the anterior chamber into a cutting position on the lens capsule. A cutting element mounted to the suction cup is used to cut a portion of the lens capsule and to remove the portion from the eye.