Opposed-Gear Ocular Fluid Delivery for Schlemm's Canal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current glaucoma treatments, such as trabeculectomy and ab-externo procedures like viscocanalostomy and canaloplasty, are invasive and challenging due to the difficulty in accessing Schlemm's canal, which has a small diameter and require significant tissue disruption, leading to complications and prolonged surgery times.
Innovation Solution
A device for delivering fluid to the eye using an ab-interno approach, comprising a handle with a fluid assembly and a cannula, allowing for the advancement of an elongate member into Schlemm's canal while simultaneously moving a plunger tube and displacement rod to deliver fluid, reducing tissue disruption and enabling minimally invasive procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If ab-externo approach is used to access Schlemm's canal, then fluid delivery to Schlemm's canal is achieved, but tissue disruption is significant and surgery time is prolonged
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional ab-externo approach by using an ab-interno approach where the delivery device is introduced through the trabecular meshwork from the interior of the eye to access Schlemm's canal. This reversal of the access direction reduces the need for external tissue disruption and allows for more precise delivery with minimal surgical trauma.
Solution Approach 2:
The delivery device employs a nested structure where an elongate member is positioned within a cannula, which is in turn positioned within the trabecular meshwork. This nested configuration allows the device to access Schlemm's canal through minimal tissue disruption while maintaining structural integrity and delivery capability.
2Reliability
If Schlemm's canal is accessed through deep dissection, then fluid delivery is possible, but the procedure becomes invasive and challenging
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of approaching Schlemm's canal from the external side through deep dissection, the patent introduces the delivery device from the interior of the eye through the trabecular meshwork. This inverted approach eliminates the need for deep external dissection and reduces invasiveness while maintaining reliable fluid delivery capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The trabecular meshwork serves as an intermediary pathway that allows the delivery device to access Schlemm's canal without requiring direct external dissection. This intermediary approach provides a natural access route that minimizes surgical trauma and reduces the complexity of the procedure.
3Reliability
If traditional trabeculectomy is performed, then intraocular pressure is reduced, but complications and risks increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the fluid delivery function from the complex trabeculectomy procedure and delivers it directly to Schlemm's canal through the trabecular meshwork. This extraction of the essential function (fluid delivery) allows for a simpler, less invasive procedure that achieves intraocular pressure reduction without the complications of traditional filtration surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical tissue disruption and filtration creation of traditional trabeculectomy with a targeted fluid delivery system that uses controlled injection through the trabecular meshwork. This substitution eliminates the need for creating surgical filters and reduces associated complications while achieving the same pressure reduction goal.
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 device provides efficient and precise delivery of fluid to Schlemm's canal, reducing procedure time and risk of infection, facilitating less invasive surgery and faster patient recovery, and allowing for simultaneous cataract and glaucoma surgery through a single incision.
Implementation Method 1
the plunger tube and the displacement rod may be configured to move relative to the fluid reservoir to deliver fluid from the fluid reservoir during advancement of the elongate member
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are devices for delivering fluid to an eye. The device may include a handle comprising a fluid assembly at least partially contained therein, the fluid assembly comprising a fluid reservoir, a plunger tube, and a displacement rod, where the plunger tube and displacement rod are configured to move relative to the fluid reservoir to deliver fluid during advancement of an elongate member. The device includes a cannula coupled to a distal end of a handle, and the elongate member slidably positioned within the handle. The handle includes a drive assembly where actuation of the drive assembly moves the plunger tube and the displacement rod in opposite directions during advancement of the elongate member. The drive assembly also comprises a first linear gear and a second linear gear, where the first linear gear is configured to move in a direction opposite the second linear gear.