Corneal Cross-Linking for Ectasia Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing eye treatments, such as LASIK and thermokeratoplasty, face challenges in maintaining the stability of corneal reshaping due to ongoing changes in collagen fibrils, leading to complications like post-LASIK ectasia, where the cornea continues to thin and weaken, affecting the longevity of the corrective effects.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that apply a cross-linking agent, like Riboflavin, to the cornea, combined with photoactivating light, to initiate molecular cross-linking of corneal collagen, stabilizing the tissue and improving its biomechanical strength, and include a cutting instrument to create incisions in the cornea for stress relief, ensuring the reshaping forces and incisions work together to achieve a predetermined corrective reshaping.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If LASIK or thermokeratoplasty is used to reshape the cornea, then corrective changes in corneal shape are achieved, but the stability of these changes deteriorates over time due to ongoing collagen fibril changes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies cross-linking treatment before or during the corneal reshaping procedure to pre-stabilize the collagen structure. This preliminary action prevents subsequent unwanted changes in corneal shape by establishing a stable collagen network that resists remodeling, thereby resolving the contradiction between achieving corrective shape changes and maintaining long-term stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of corneal collagen through cross-linking, transforming it from a naturally remodeled state to a stabilized state with altered mechanical properties. This parameter change in collagen stability allows the cornea to maintain its corrected shape without ongoing degradation, addressing the stability issue while preserving the corrective shape changes.
2Strength
If cross-linking treatment is applied to stabilize corneal tissue, then biomechanical strength is improved, but the complexity of the treatment procedure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines cross-linking treatment with existing corneal reshaping procedures (LASIK or thermokeratoplasty) into a single integrated treatment protocol. By merging the cross-linking step with the reshaping procedure, the system delivers both shape correction and stability enhancement through one treatment session, reducing overall procedural complexity while achieving both biomechanical strength improvement and shape stability.
3Reliability
If incisions are created in the cornea for stress relief, then the effectiveness of reshaping forces is improved, but the risk of complications increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies incisions only in specific localized regions of the cornea where stress relief is most needed, rather than making extensive incisions across the entire corneal surface. This localized approach provides sufficient stress relief to enhance reshaping effectiveness while minimizing the creation of weak points that could lead to complications, thereby balancing reliability improvement with complication risk reduction.
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 cross-linking treatment enhances the stability and biomechanical strength of the cornea, reducing the need for additional procedures by achieving significant flattening and maintaining the desired shape change, with higher doses of UV light providing additional shape correction beyond standard treatments.
Implementation Method 1
a light source that provides photoactivating light for the cross-linking agent, and optical elements that direct the photoactivating light to selected areas of the cornea with the applied cross-linking agent, the photoactivating light acting on the cross-linking agent initiating cross-linking activity in the selected areas to apply the reshaping forces
Implementation Method 2
The system also includes a cutting instrument, such as a femtosecond laser, that creates incisions in the cornea
Implementation Method 3
thermokeratoplasty provides a noninvasive procedure that applies electrical energy in the microwave or radio frequency (RF) band to the cornea. In particular, the electrical energy raises the corneal temperature until the collagen fibers in the cornea shrink at about 60° C.
Implementation Method 4
the electrical energy raises the corneal temperature until the collagen fibers in the cornea shrink at about 60° C. The onset of shrinkage is rapid, and stresses resulting from this shrinkage reshape the corneal surface
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods include a cutting instrument that creates incisions in selected areas of the cornea; an eye therapy system that applies reshaping forces to the cornea; and a controller that determines the selected areas of the cornea for the incisions and the reshaping forces from the eye therapy system, such that the reshaping forces and the incisions combine to achieve corrective reshaping of the cornea. Other systems and methods include measuring an eye to determine a required amount of reshaping of a cornea; determining one or more doses of cross-linking agent and one or more corresponding doses of photoactivating light according to the required amount of reshaping; applying the cross-linking agent to the cornea; and delivering, from a light source, the photoactivating light to the area of the eye, the photoactivating light combining with the cross-linking agent to induce the corrective reshaping of the cornea.