Hand-Held Ocular Aspiration With Short Suction Path Responsiveness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ophthalmic surgery methods for lens extraction, such as phacoemulsification, face challenges including tissue damage from ultrasonic energy, turbulent flow, equipment complexity, long suction lines affecting responsiveness, clogging, and high costs, particularly in resource-limited settings.
Innovation Solution
A hand-held device with a short suction path, manual power, and a purging mechanism to reduce clogging, combined with a restrictor to minimize material entry at the distal opening, and a tissue manipulator using flexible loops for minimally invasive lens fragmentation and removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If phacoemulsification is used for lens extraction, then lens fragmentation and removal is achieved, but tissue damage occurs from ultrasonic energy and turbulent flow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the harmful ultrasonic energy component from the lens fragmentation process. Instead of using phacoemulsification's ultrasonic vibration, the invention uses mechanical fragmentation tools (cissors, hooks, knives) to break up the lens, thereby removing the source of tissue damage while maintaining lens extraction capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanical fragmentation step between lens capture and aspiration. Rather than directly aspirating whole lens material which causes turbulent flow, the lens is first mechanically fragmented into smaller pieces that can be gently aspirated, mediating between the need for removal and the harm of turbulent flow
2Device complexity
If long suction lines are used in remote vacuum systems, then equipment complexity is reduced, but responsiveness of suction deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the vacuum generation function from a remote console and places it directly in the handpiece. This removes the long suction line connecting the console to the handpiece, eliminating the compliance problem while maintaining system simplicity through integration
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the vacuum pump and suction tip into a single integrated handpiece unit. The vacuum pump, previously a separate console component, is now combined with the handpiece, eliminating the intermediate suction line and improving responsiveness
3Device complexity
If manual power is used for aspiration, then equipment cost and complexity are reduced, but aspiration power may be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a dynamic bellows mechanism that the surgeon can manually compress to generate variable aspiration power. The bellows allows the user to adjust aspiration strength by controlling compression force and speed, adapting to different surgical needs without electronic controls
Solution Approach 2:
The surgeon themselves provides the power for aspiration by manually operating the bellows. The system is self-powered through the surgeon's physical input, eliminating the need for external electrical power sources while maintaining adequate aspiration capability
4Productivity
If suction opening is large for efficient aspiration, then productivity is improved, but clogging risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the aspiration function into two parts: a larger opening for capturing lens material and a smaller distal opening for actual suction. The distal opening remains unclogged while the larger proximal opening captures material, then divides it into smaller pieces that can pass through the smaller suction opening
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
Improves responsiveness, reduces clogging, and lowers equipment complexity and cost, enabling effective lens extraction with minimal tissue damage and suitability for diverse surgical settings.
Implementation Method 1
A suction source is coupled to the suction path to draw material into the opening and through the suction path
Implementation Method 2
The suction source is hand held in that the movable element is part of a hand held unit and, in one embodiment, is spring loaded
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A hand-held aspiration device is provided which has a relatively small suction volume along a suction path to improve responsiveness of the aspiration device when the device is activated. The device may be manually powered and may be provided without electronic controls. The device has a suction path which may be purged into a disposal enclosure to reduce the volume of material under the influence of the suction pressure during the procedure. The suction source may also be part of the hand-held unit to further reduce the suction path and suction volume.