Robotic Water Jet Cataract Emulsification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cataract surgery methods, such as phacoemulsification and laser-based procedures, face challenges like heat generation, difficulty in navigating tight spaces, and inefficiency, which can lead to tissue damage and prolonged operative times, while existing solutions for sinusitis and other eye ailments are invasive or ineffective.
Innovation Solution
A water jet apparatus and system for performing surgery, including cataract extraction, utilizing a robotic arm with a feedback loop controlled by a computer or microcontroller to manage flow rates and pressure, allowing precise tissue removal with minimal damage to surrounding tissues, replacing traditional dissection and emulsification steps with a single water jet emulsification process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If phacoemulsification is used to emulsify the cataract, then the cataract can be broken into smaller pieces for removal, but heat is generated that can damage surrounding eye tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the ultrasonic mechanical vibration system with a hydrodynamic system using high-velocity water jets. The water jet apparatus uses pressurized fluid flow to mechanically disrupt and emulsify the cataract material through shear forces and cavitation, eliminating the need for ultrasonic transducers that generate harmful heat in the eye.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention employs hydraulic principles by using a pump-driven water jet system to deliver high-velocity fluid through a catheter. The pressurized water flow creates mechanical disruption of the cataract through hydraulic forces, providing a non-thermal alternative to ultrasonic emulsification while maintaining effective tissue breakdown capability.
2Use of energy by moving object
If a rigid ultrasound probe is used to propagate ultrasound energy, then the probe can transmit energy effectively, but it cannot navigate tight corners or bends in the eye
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes a flexible catheter with a soft distal end that can navigate tight corners and bends within the eye. The flexible construction allows the catheter to conform to anatomical structures and reach difficult-to-access areas, while the water jet system maintains effective emulsification capability despite the flexible delivery mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid ultrasound probe is replaced with a flexible water jet catheter. The energy transmission mechanism changes from mechanical ultrasonic waves requiring rigid propagation paths to hydraulic water jets that can effectively deliver energy through flexible conduits, enabling navigation of tight spaces while maintaining emulsification effectiveness.
3Productivity
If conventional extracapsular cataract extraction is performed with a large incision, then the entire lens can be removed manually, but it requires stitches and has longer recovery time
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes only the cataractous lens material through a small incision while preserving the natural lens capsule. The water jet emulsifies the cataract into fine particles that can be suctioned out through the distal end of the catheter, eliminating the need for large incisions and sutures required by conventional extraction methods.
Solution Approach 2:
The cataract is emulsified into fine particles through water jet disruption, creating segmented small pieces that can be easily aspirated. This segmentation allows complete removal of the lens material through a small incision, avoiding the need for large openings and subsequent closure required in conventional surgery.
4Manufacturing precision
If laser-based cataract surgery is used, then precision of incision and emulsification can be improved, but the equipment cost and operative time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a relatively simple water jet system with a disposable or single-use catheter, avoiding the need for expensive femtosecond laser equipment. The water jet apparatus provides sufficient precision for incision and emulsification using off-the-shelf pump and catheter components, dramatically reducing equipment cost while maintaining surgical effectiveness.
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 water jet system enables efficient and precise cataract surgery with reduced heat generation and improved control, minimizing tissue damage and operative time, while being applicable to various eye and micro-surgery procedures, including sinusitis treatment.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing a robotic arm with a feedback loop controlled by a computer or microcontroller to manage flow rates and pressure, allowing precise tissue removal
Implementation Method 2
A water jet apparatus and system for performing surgery, including cataract extraction, utilizing a robotic arm with a feedback loop controlled by a computer or microcontroller to manage flow rates and pressure
Data Source
AI summary
A water jet instrument may be used for manually performing surgery. The water jet instrument may be manually controlled or controlled by a system with a robotic control. The water jet apparatus defines a jet cutting area that is based at least in part on a flow rate meter and a feedback loop.