Valve-Less Ocular Drainage Implant for Stable Suprachoroidal Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing glaucoma treatments, including medication and conventional surgery, suffer from side effects, patient compliance issues, and invasive procedures, while current ocular drainage implants pose risks and require re-operation, with suprachoroidal drainage implants being less explored and difficult to fix in place.
Innovation Solution
A pliable ocular drainage implant with a valve-less fluid drainage tube and a retaining structure that bisects a flat plate, allowing for stable fixation on the sclera, reducing the risk of flashes and enabling drainage from the anterior chamber to either subconjunctival or suprachoroidal spaces, with a design that accommodates both orientations based on layer thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a conventional ocular drainage implant with a drainage tube is used, then fluid drainage from the anterior chamber is achieved, but the drainage tube can move and contact the eye causing flashes
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage tube is nested within the retaining structure, which is integrated into the plate. This nesting configuration restricts the drainage tube's movement while maintaining its drainage function, thereby eliminating flashes caused by tube contact with the eye.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining structure acts as an intermediary between the drainage tube and the external environment. It provides a fixed pathway for the drainage tube, preventing direct contact between the tube and the eye, thus eliminating flashes while maintaining drainage functionality.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If suprachoroidal drainage implants are used, then less invasive drainage is achieved, but fixation in place is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The implant is segmented into a plate portion for scleral fixation and a drainage tube portion for fluid drainage. The plate can be securely fixed to the sclera while the drainage tube extends to the anterior chamber, achieving both stable fixation and minimally invasive drainage.
Solution Approach 2:
The implant utilizes the third dimension by extending the drainage tube vertically from the plate that is fixed to the scleral surface. This dimensional arrangement allows the plate to provide stable fixation while the tube reaches the anterior chamber through a minimally invasive path.
3Ease of manufacture
If the drainage tube is made movable to facilitate installation, then ease of implantation is improved, but flashes are caused by tube movement during operation
Solution Approach 1:
The drainage tube is pre-positioned within the retaining structure during manufacturing, ensuring it is properly constrained before implantation. This preliminary positioning allows for easy implantation while preventing flashes during operation, as the tube is already secured in its final position.
Data Source
AI summary
Conventional ways of reducing pressure in the eye have inherent drawbacks and one such way to reduce these drawbacks is to provide an ocular drainage implant including a pliable plate which is so sized and shaped as to enable it to be positioned on a sclera surface or a sub-scleral space of an eye comprising a first exterior face and a second exterior face, with a plurality of apertures extending between the first and second faces, and a fluid drainage tube retaining structure; and a valve-less fluid drainage tube connected to the retaining structure and providing the implant with a longitudinal axis, the valve-less fluid drainage tube being adapted to drain fluid from an anterior chamber of the eye to the subconjunctival or the suprachoroidal space, wherein the retaining structure extends substantially across an entire dimension of the plate.