Posterior Lens Sectioning Element for Capsular Bag Protection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ophthalmic surgical techniques for removing lenticular tissue are cumbersome and inefficient, often failing to achieve full-thickness fragmentation of the lens, risking damage to the capsular bag and requiring expensive equipment, such as in phacoemulsification, which can cause turbulent flow and tissue damage.
Innovation Solution
A surgical device with a shaft and sectioning element that changes shape to capture and fragment the lens, allowing for precise cutting and reduction of risk to the capsular bag, using a sectioning element that moves from a first insertion configuration to a second capture configuration to surround the lens and apply cutting force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If mechanical instruments are used to fragment the lens from the anterior surface, then the lens can be accessed and cut, but the dissection forces are insufficient to accomplish full-thickness segmentation and the instrument orientation is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional approach by accessing the lens from the posterior surface of the capsular bag rather than the anterior surface. The sectioning element is delivered through the posterior capsule and approaches the lens from behind, allowing the cutting forces to be applied in a direction that enables complete full-thickness segmentation of the lens, overcoming the limitation of anterior approach instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the dimensional approach by moving from an anterior-to-posterior cutting direction to a posterior-to-anterior direction. This dimensional reversal allows the sectioning element to engage the lens at its thickest portion and cut through the full thickness more effectively, while the flexible delivery catheter enables navigation through the posterior capsule opening.
2Reliability
If conventional snares or loops are used to surround the lens, then lens capture is possible, but excessive force is applied to the capsular bag causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a flexible sectioning element as an intermediary between the delivery catheter and the lens. This element can be advanced through the catheter, deployed to surround the lens, and then engaged to apply cutting forces. The flexibility of the sectioning element allows it to conform to the lens shape and apply forces primarily to the lens rather than transmitting excessive forces to the capsular bag.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the sectioning element by using a flexible material that can transition from a compressed state within the catheter to an expanded state surrounding the lens. This parameter change allows the element to apply controlled cutting forces to the lens while its flexibility prevents excessive force transmission to the capsular bag, reducing the risk of capsular damage.
3Manufacturing precision
If laser is used to cut the lens, then precise cutting is achieved, but sections of the lens close to the capsular bag cannot be cut due to proximity risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the cutting approach by positioning the sectioning element on the posterior side of the lens and cutting from posterior to anterior. This reversal allows the cutting instrument to access and fragment all portions of the lens, including the posterior edge that is close to the capsular bag, without the proximity risks associated with anterior laser cutting. The flexible delivery system enables the sectioning element to reach all lens regions.
4Productivity
If phacoemulsification is used to remove lens tissue, then complete lens removal is achieved, but expensive and bulky equipment is required and turbulent flow damages ocular tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the complex ultrasonic mechanical system of phacoemulsification with a simpler mechanical sectioning element delivered through a flexible catheter. The sectioning element uses mechanical cutting forces applied from the posterior side to fragment the lens into removable pieces, eliminating the need for expensive phacoemulsification equipment while avoiding the turbulent flow and ultrasonic energy that cause tissue damage.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a disposable sectioning element that is loaded into a simple delivery catheter. This single-use element can be advanced through the posterior capsule, deployed to section the lens, and then used to capture and remove lens fragments. This approach replaces the expensive, reusable phacoemulsification system with a simpler, disposable instrument that reduces equipment costs and eliminates the need for bulky capital equipment.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
Figure 6~8
AI summary
An exemplary surgical device includes an element positionable within a shaft having a lumen defined therethrough with the element movable from a stored position to a deployed position in which a larger portion of the element extends out of the distal end of the lumen. The element forming a closed loop which is positioned around the lens while the lens is within a capsular bag. The closed loop is reduced in size to form a cut in the lens.