Corneal Prosthesis with Hastate Tips for Suture-Free Keratoplasty
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current corneal transplantation methods, such as penetrating keratoplasty, face challenges in achieving optimal mechanical alignment between host and donor tissues, leading to inflammation and astigmatism, and often require sutures for tissue attachment.
Innovation Solution
A corneal prosthesis with a body that narrows to hastate-shaped tips and includes slits and elastically deformable fingers, allowing for suture-free attachment by forming passageways in both host and donor tissues using a femtosecond laser, aligning them for secure interconnection without sutures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional penetrating keratoplasty is performed without suture-free attachment, then mechanical alignment between host and donor tissues is achieved, but inflammation and astigmatism increase due to improper interface alignment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-forming passage ways in both the host cornea and donor corneal button before the actual transplantation. These passage ways are created using a femtosecond laser to define precise trajectories for the prosthesis, ensuring that when the prosthesis is inserted, it automatically achieves optimal mechanical alignment without requiring sutures or other attachment mechanisms that could cause inflammation or astigmatism.
2Strength
If sutures are used for tissue attachment, then secure fixation is achieved, but device complexity and surgical difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the suture from the corneal transplantation system entirely. Instead of using sutures to attach the donor corneal button to the host cornea, the invention uses a prosthesis with specifically shaped tips (such as hastate-shaped or curved tips) that are inserted through pre-formed passage ways to achieve secure fixation. This removal of the suture element simplifies the surgical procedure and reduces the complexity of the attachment mechanism while maintaining strong tissue connection.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If precise anatomical alignment is achieved through laser-formed passageways, then inflammation is minimized, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical alignment methods (such as manual suturing or mechanical fixtures) with a laser-based system. A femtosecond laser is used to create passage ways with precise geometric control, allowing the surgeon to define the exact trajectory and depth of the passages through the host and donor corneas. This substitution of mechanical alignment with laser precision enables accurate positioning that minimizes inflammation while maintaining manufacturability through established laser surgery technology.
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
This method minimizes inflammation and astigmatism by ensuring precise anatomical alignment and secure fixation of the corneal graft, reducing the need for sutures and enhancing healing through fenestration and postoperative modulation for refractive adjustments.
Implementation Method 1
forming passageways in both host and donor tissues using a femtosecond laser
Implementation Method 2
elastically deformable fingers
Data Source
AI summary
A method of implanting a corneal prosthesis in an eye to interconnect host tissue with a corneal graft can include forming an opening in a host tissue of an eye. The method can also include forming a first passageway through the host tissue that extends annularly about an optic axis of the eye. The method can also include forming a second passageway through a corneal graft that extends annularly about an axis of the corneal graft that is substantially collinear with the optic axis of the eye when said corneal graft is positioned in the eye, the first passageway and the second passageway having the same diameter relative to the optic axis. The method can also include forming a gap in the host tissue that extends between a lateral side of the host tissue and the first passageway.