Intraocular Lens Packaging with Steam-Permeable Sterilization Section
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for sterilizing and packaging intraocular lenses are cumbersome, costly, and uncertain, particularly when using airtight containers with minimal water and high air volumes, leading to prolonged sterilization times and potential packaging failure due to high internal pressure.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a packaging system with two sub-sections: a gas-tight section for the lens and a gas-permeable section for steam penetration, allowing controlled humidity adjustment and efficient sterilization using steam, followed by a final gas-tight seal to maintain sterility and humidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If airtight containers with minimal water and high air volumes are used for sterilization, then packaging complexity is reduced, but sterilization time is prolonged and packaging failure risk increases due to high internal pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging is divided into two functional sub-sections: a gas-tight section containing the lens and a gas-permeable section that facilitates steam penetration. This segmentation allows the packaging to simultaneously provide mechanical protection and enable efficient sterilization, resolving the contradiction between simplified packaging and extended sterilization time.
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the packaging are assigned different material properties: the first sub-section uses gas-tight material for protection, while the second sub-section uses gas-permeable material for steam exchange. This local differentiation enables the packaging to achieve both structural integrity and sterilization efficiency without requiring complex overall design.
2Reliability
If steam sterilization is performed in packaging with high air volume, then sterilization effectiveness is improved, but internal pressure increases causing sealing failure
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful element (excess air) is extracted from the packaging through the gas-permeable second sub-section during sterilization. This allows steam to penetrate effectively for reliable sterilization while preventing air expansion from compromising the sealing strength, as the permeable section acts as a pressure relief pathway.
Solution Approach 2:
The gas-permeable second sub-section serves as an intermediary between the sterilization steam and the gas-tight first sub-section. It mediates the sterilization process by allowing steam penetration while simultaneously protecting the sealing integrity by preventing excessive pressure buildup in the sealed compartment.
3Productivity
If packaging material allows gas penetration for sterilization, then sterilization efficiency is improved, but humidity control deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging is segmented into a gas-tight first sub-section for humidity control and a gas-permeable second sub-section for sterilization efficiency. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by assigning conflicting functional requirements to different sections, allowing both steam penetration and humidity maintenance to occur simultaneously in their respective zones.
Solution Approach 2:
Different material properties are applied locally to different sub-sections: the gas-tight first sub-section maintains humidity control, while the gas-permeable second sub-section enables efficient steam penetration. This local quality differentiation allows the packaging to achieve both sterilization efficiency and precise humidity control without compromise.
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 ensures rapid and effective sterilization with controlled humidity, reducing packaging complexity and cost, while protecting the lens from mechanical influences and ensuring sterility and flexibility for intraocular lenses.
Implementation Method 1
a second packaging material which is permeable to gases or gas mixtures, such as, for example, at least steam
Implementation Method 2
sterilization of the interior space of the packaging sealed according to the first sealing by exposing the packaging sealed according to the first sealing, after the first sealing, to steam or other gaseous sterilizing substances for the purpose of sterilization
Data Source
AI summary
A method for manufacturing a packaging with an intraocular lens enclosed therein includesinsertion of the intraocular lens into a packaging comprising a first packaging material which is gas-tight in a first sub-section, and a second packaging material which is permeable to gases in a second sub-section,first sealing of the packaging so that the intraocular lens is enclosed in the interior space of the packaging, the interior space being partially delimited by the first sub-section and the second sub-section,sterilization of the interior space of the packaging by exposing the packaging to a gas, so that the gas can penetrate through the second sub-section into the interior space of the packaging,second sealing of the packaging by sealing off a volume of the gas-tight first sub-section of the packaging with the intraocular lens enclosed therein from the volume of the second sub-section.