Schlemm's Canal Fluid Delivery with Retraction-Controlled Injection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for accessing Schlemm's canal are invasive and challenging, particularly when attempting to deliver ocular devices or fluid compositions, leading to prolonged surgery times and increased risk of complications.
Innovation Solution
A minimally invasive system and method for accessing Schlemm's canal using an ab-interno approach, allowing for the delivery of ocular devices, tools, or fluid compositions, such as viscoelastic fluids, to disrupt the trabecular meshwork and enhance aqueous humor drainage without compromising surgical precision or safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional ab-externo approach is used to access Schlemm's canal, then surgical access can be achieved, but surgery time is prolonged and tissue disruption is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional surgical approach by transitioning from ab-externo (external approach) to ab-interno (internal approach). The delivery system enters through the anterior chamber from the inside of the eye, reversing the conventional external access route. This inversion enables direct access to Schlemm's canal through the trabecular meshwork, significantly reducing the need for extensive external dissection and tissue manipulation, thereby decreasing surgery time while maintaining effective access.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of accessing Schlemm's canal by delivering a streamlined delivery system directly through the trabecular meshwork into the canal. This extraction approach removes the need for complex external surgical steps and focuses on the core objective of reaching the target structure efficiently, thereby reducing overall surgical time and tissue disruption.
2Ease of operation
If traditional ab-externo approach is used to access Schlemm's canal, then surgical access can be achieved, but tissue disruption is increased
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the surgical approach from external to internal access, the patent minimizes tissue disruption. The delivery system enters through a small incision in the cornea or sclera from the inside, avoiding the need for large external incisions and extensive dissection of external tissues. This reversal of the approach pathway significantly reduces the amount of healthy tissue that must be cut, retracted, or manipulated during the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the surgical intervention at the specific target location (Schlemm's canal) through the ab-interno approach. The delivery system delivers therapeutic agents or mechanical disruption precisely at the site of pathology within the canal, rather than requiring broad external access. This localized approach minimizes unnecessary tissue disruption while maintaining effective treatment of the target structure.
3Loss of time
If ab-interno approach is used to deliver ocular devices or fluid compositions, then surgery time is reduced, but delivery precision must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an intermediary delivery system that serves as a mediator between the external surgical site and Schlemm's canal. This delivery system includes guiding elements and positioning mechanisms that ensure precise navigation through the trabecular meshwork and into the canal. The intermediary device maintains control and accuracy throughout the delivery pathway, compensating for the challenges of internal access while enabling rapid surgery time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical external dissection systems with a streamlined internal delivery mechanism. By substituting the ab-externo mechanical approach with an ab-interno delivery system, the patent achieves faster surgery time while maintaining precision through optimized internal navigation and positioning capabilities rather than external manipulation.
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
Facilitates rapid and precise delivery of ocular devices and fluid compositions to Schlemm's canal, reducing surgery time, minimizing tissue disruption, and improving patient recovery by maintaining patency and enhancing aqueous humor outflow.
Implementation Method 1
The fluid composition may be a viscoelastic fluid that is delivered into the canal or aqueous collector channels to facilitate drainage of aqueous humor by dilating the canal, disrupting juxtacanalicular meshwork and the adjacent wall of Schlemm's canal
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A device for treating a condition of an eye comprising: an elongate member comprising a lumen, a fluid assembly comprising a fluid reservoir fluidly coupled to the lumen of the elongate member, and a linear gear, wherein the elongate member is configured to be advanced into Schlemm's canal of the eye in a first direction by advancement of the linear gear and the fluid reservoir and the device is configured to maintain a fixed distance between a proximal end of the linear gear and a distal end of the fluid reservoir during advancement, wherein the elongate member is further configured to be retracted and the device is configured to deliver a fluid composition from the fluid reservoir through the elongate member into Schlemm's canal simultaneously with the retraction of the elongate member by decreasing the distance between the proximal end of the linear gear and the distal end of the fluid reservoir.