Ocular Lens Shipping Container with Folding Guides
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for replacing intraocular lenses are prone to contamination and are time-consuming due to the manual handling of lenses from their shipping containers to injection devices, and smaller nozzles often cause lenses to become stuck during insertion.
Innovation Solution
A shipping and storage container system that reconfigures from a shipping mode to an injection mode without manual handling of the lens, using a detachable nozzle made of polypropylene and folding guides that deform the lens into a suitable shape for injection, reducing the risk of contamination and nozzle binding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual handling of lenses from shipping container to injection device is used, then the lens can be transferred and injected, but the risk of contamination increases and the procedure time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the shipping container and injection device into a single integrated system. The lens remains in the shipping container throughout the procedure, and the injection device is attached to the container, eliminating the need for manual transfer and reducing contamination risk while saving time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism (the integrated container-device system with folding guides and compression plates) that facilitates lens injection without direct manual handling. The intermediary structures guide and compress the lens automatically, reducing both contamination risk and procedure time.
2Length of moving object
If smaller nozzles are used for insertion, then the incision size is reduced, but the lens becomes stuck in the nozzle during insertion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary compression to the lens using compression plates before injection. This pre-compression reduces the lens diameter and prepares it for smooth passage through smaller nozzles, preventing the lens from getting stuck during insertion while maintaining small incision sizes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the lens (diameter, shape) through compression before injection. By temporarily altering the lens dimensions and flexibility, the system enables passage through smaller nozzles without binding, then allows the lens to return to its original state after injection.
3Reliability
If hydrophilic lenses are used, then biological compatibility and inflammation reduction are improved, but the cost and wet-storage requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the wet-storage shipping container with the injection device into an integrated system. This allows hydrophilic lenses to be shipped and stored in their beneficial wet state without requiring separate storage infrastructure, maintaining biological compatibility while reducing overall system complexity.
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 system reduces the risk of contamination and shortens the procedure time by allowing the lens to be transformed into an injectable form within the container, facilitating smoother insertion through smaller incisions without lens binding.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient ring member, all of one piece construction... The injection configuration of the present invention forms the medical implant into a shape suitable for injection
Data Source
AI summary
A shipping system for a medical device, such as implantable lens for an eye, is provided that may be reconfigured from a shipping mode into an injection mode without manually handling the contained lens or other device. Upon manufacture, a lens may be placed within the system assembly in the shipping configuration. Upon arrival at the destination, the user may attach a nozzle assembly for injecting the device into a body. A new assembly for a medical device utilizing the shipping systems is also disclosed. The insertion assembly includes a body for containing the medical device, a plunger casing, a finger-engaging flange, and a resilient ring member all of which are formed as a single piece assembly. Additionally a nozzle assembly may be integrally formed with the insertion assembly or formed as a separate body that is attachable to the insertion assembly.