Intraocular Lens Injector With Depth Guard and Plunger Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing intraocular lens injectors face challenges in efficiently delivering artificial lenses into the eye while minimizing trauma and ensuring precise placement, particularly due to variations in eye size and shape.
Innovation Solution
The intraocular lens injector features a design with a plunger and injector body that includes a bore, a nozzle, and an insertion depth guard with a flanged surface, along with a plunger tip having grooves and protrusions to facilitate accurate insertion and folding of the lens, and a biasing element to resist further advancement, providing tactile feedback and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the injector is designed to accommodate variations in eye size and shape, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The injector incorporates a flexible flanged surface that can dynamically adapt its shape during insertion to conform to different eye geometries. This dynamic flexibility allows the same device structure to accommodate variations in eye size and shape without requiring multiple specialized injectors, thereby improving adaptability while controlling complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The flanged surface is designed with variable geometric parameters that allow it to change its effective insertion depth and contact area. By adjusting these parameters during the insertion process, the injector can adapt to different eye dimensions and curvatures, achieving versatility through parameter modulation rather than structural complexity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the plunger tip includes grooves and protrusions for accurate lens placement, then manufacturing precision is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The plunger tip is segmented into distinct functional features: grooves for lens engagement and protrusions for positioning. This segmentation allows each feature to be optimized independently for its specific function while maintaining overall manufacturability through modular design principles.
Solution Approach 2:
The grooves and protrusions are pre-formed on the plunger tip during manufacturing to establish accurate lens placement geometry before the actual implantation procedure. This preliminary formation of precision features ensures that the complex geometric relationships are established once during fabrication rather than requiring complex real-time adjustments during surgery.
3Ease of operation
If the biasing element provides resistance to plunger advancement, then ease of operation is improved through tactile feedback, but force requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The biasing element provides continuous tactile feedback to the operator during plunger advancement by resisting motion and indicating when specific insertion milestones are reached. This feedback mechanism allows the operator to sense the insertion depth and lens deployment status without visual assistance, improving ease of operation through sensory information.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing element is designed to provide resistance only during specific phases of insertion, rather than throughout the entire plunger stroke. By applying force selectively during critical deployment moments and reducing resistance during other phases, the system achieves tactile feedback without requiring the operator to sustain high forces throughout the procedure.
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 design ensures precise and trauma-minimized delivery of intraocular lenses by conforming to the eye's shape, allowing for accurate placement and minimizing complications during surgical implantation.
Implementation Method 1
The biasing element may be deformable upon engagement with the injector body to produce a force resistive to further advancement of the plunger through the bore
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatuses, systems, and methods for implanting an intraocular lens into an eye are described. For example, an intraocular lens injector may include a plunger and an injector body that includes an insertion depth guard and a nozzle extending therefrom. The insertion depth guard is disposed at a distal end of the injector body to limit a distance that the nozzle penetrates the eye. The intraocular lens injector may also include a biasing element configured to generate a counterforce to distal movement of the plunger through the injector rod. An example intraocular lens injector may include a biasing element to produce a counterforce that opposes advancement of the plunger through the injector body. The counterforce provides for a more continuous advancement of the plunger while reducing or substantially eliminating abrupt changes in the rate at which the plunger is advanced through the injector body.