IOL Injector Soft-Tip Geometry for Controlled Lens Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing IOL injectors face challenges in delivering intraocular lenses through small incisions without damaging or misorienting them, necessitating improved control and alignment during insertion.
Innovation Solution
An IOL injector with a plunger featuring a soft tip having a concave distal surface angled non-perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis, which facilitates controlled engagement and alignment of the haptic onto the optic body, minimizing contact and ensuring proper orientation and delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional plunger tip is used to advance the IOL through the lumen, then the IOL can be delivered into the eye, but the IOL may be damaged or misoriented due to lack of controlled engagement
Solution Approach 1:
The distal end of the plunger is configured with a concave surface that has specific geometric properties (radius of curvature, angular orientation) to locally control engagement with the haptic. This localized geometric quality enables controlled folding and positioning of the haptic onto the optic body, preventing damage while ensuring reliable delivery.
Solution Approach 2:
The concave distal surface of the plunger is designed with a specific radius of curvature that matches the geometry of the haptic. This curvature allows the plunger to gently engage and fold the haptic onto the optic body through controlled contact, preventing sharp angles or flat surfaces from causing damage or misorientation.
2Length of moving object
If the IOL is folded and compressed to fit through a small incision, then the incision size can be reduced, but the risk of IOL damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The plunger's concave surface parameters (radius of curvature, angular orientation relative to the longitudinal axis) are specifically designed to control the folding process. These parameter changes enable the haptic to be folded onto the optic body in a controlled manner, reducing the risk of damage while achieving the necessary size reduction for small incision delivery.
3Ease of operation
If the plunger tip contacts the haptic at any angle, then the haptic can be positioned onto the optic body, but misalignment and trauma to surrounding tissues may occur
Solution Approach 1:
The concave distal surface is oriented at a specific non-perpendicular angle relative to the longitudinal axis of the plunger. This asymmetric angular orientation ensures that the haptic is engaged and folded in a controlled manner onto the optic body, preventing misalignment while maintaining ease of operation during the delivery process.
Data Source
AI summary
An injector for injecting an IOL into an eye, comprising an injector body having a lumen wall defining a lumen, a plunger having a longitudinal axis and a soft tip at a distal end of the plunger. The soft tip having a concave distal surface. In a plane including the longitudinal axis, the plane being perpendicular to an IOL optical axis when the IOL is located at a staging area of the injector body, the concave distal surface extending in a direction at a non-perpendicular angle relative to the longitudinal axis. The concave distal surface may be oval-shaped in a plane perpendicular to the direction, and the concave distal surface has no curvature along the direction.