Color-Apodized Intraocular Lens for Extended Depth of Focus
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Presbyopic eyes face challenges in visual acuity due to reduced flexibility of the crystalline lens with age, leading to blurry images of nearby objects, and existing solutions like aperture-reducing devices and blue-filtering intraocular lenses (IOLs) have drawbacks such as reduced luminescence, sensitivity to centration, and altered color perception.
Innovation Solution
A color-apodized intraocular lens (CA-IOL) with a center-transmittance and a surrounding annulus that selectively attenuates incident light based on radius and wavelength, reducing transmittance in the short wavelength spectral range, and haptics extending from the annulus, which can be formed using a base-polymer mold and activated post-implantation to optimize visual acuity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If aperture-reducing devices are used to extend depth of focus, then visual acuity is improved, but luminescence is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The IOL implements local quality by applying wavelength-dependent attenuation specifically in the annular region while maintaining high transmittance in the central region. This creates different optical properties in different zones of the lens, allowing the center to transmit maximum light for luminescence while the annulus provides aperture-reducing effects for depth of focus extension.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the parameter of light transmittance from a uniform value to a wavelength-dependent, radially-varying value. The annulus-transmittance Ta(r,λ) varies both with radius r and wavelength λ, creating a colorized apodization pattern that selectively attenuates blue light in the annular region while preserving overall light transmission and luminescence.
2Measurement precision
If aperture-reducing devices are used to extend depth of focus, then visual acuity is improved, but sensitivity to centration increases
Solution Approach 1:
By distributing the aperture-reducing effect across an annular region rather than using a centralized aperture, the design reduces sensitivity to centration errors. The annular geometry provides a larger tolerance zone for misalignment while still achieving the depth of focus extension effect.
Solution Approach 2:
The lens is segmented into a central region and an annular region with different optical properties. This segmentation allows the annulus to provide the aperture effect while the center maintains full transmittance, and the distributed annular structure is less sensitive to positioning errors compared to a single centralized aperture.
3Measurement precision
If blue-filtering IOLs are used to reduce blur, then visual acuity is improved, but color perception is altered
Solution Approach 1:
The blue filtering is applied locally in the annular region rather than uniformly across the entire lens. This localized approach reduces the overall impact on color perception while still achieving the blur reduction effect in the periphery, preserving more natural color vision compared to full-lens blue filters.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of filtering blue light across the entire lens surface, the invention applies partial filtering only in the annular region. This partial action is sufficient to improve visual acuity by reducing blue light-induced blur while minimizing the distortion of overall color perception that would result from complete blue filtering.
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
The CA-IOL improves visual acuity by extending the depth of focus without significant luminescence reduction or color perception changes, maintaining a wavelength-independent depth of focus and avoiding centration issues, as demonstrated by significant improvements in visual acuity measurements compared to standard IOLs.
Implementation Method 1
a lens annulus, surrounding the lens center, configured to selectively attenuate the incident light according to a radius- and wavelength-dependent annulus-transmittance Ta(r,λ), wherein the annulus-transmittance is less than the center-transmittance in a short wavelength spectral range
Data Source
AI summary
A color-apodized intraocular lens includes a lens center, with a center-transmittance to transmit an incident light; a lens annul us, surrounding the lens center, configured to selectively attenuate the incident light according to a radius- and wavelength-dependent annulus-transmittance, wherein the annulus-transmittance is less than the center-transmittance, in a short wavelength spectral range; and haptics, extending from the lens annulus. A method of making a color-apodized intraocular lens includes creating an intraocular lens mold using a base-polymer, the intraocular lens having a lens center, with a center-transmittance to transmit an incident light; a lens annulus, surrounding the lens center, configured to selectively attenuate the incident light according to a radius and wavelength-dependent annulus-transmittance, wherein the annulus-transmittance is less than the center-transmittance in a short wavelength spectral range; forming haptics, extending from the lens annulus; and applying a stimulus to the intraocular lens mold to form the color-apodized intraocular lens.