Three-Lens Intraocular Lens With Moveable Center Element
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional intraocular lenses (IOLs) lack the ability to generate a large range of optical power using small linear movements, limiting their effectiveness in correcting refractive errors for both distance and near vision.
Innovation Solution
A three-lens IOL system comprising a first and second lens rigidly connected by a rigid member, with a third moveable lens positioned between them, and an articulating actuator that contacts the capsular bag to move the moveable lens linearly, altering the optical power by changing its position between anterior and posterior directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional single-lens IOL is used, then the device complexity is low, but the range of optical power is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The single IOL is divided into three separate lens elements (anterior lens, central moveable lens, and posterior lens) that can independently move relative to each other. This segmentation allows each lens to contribute differently to the overall optical power, enabling a much broader range of accommodation (6-34 diopters) compared to a conventional single-lens design.
Solution Approach 2:
The central lens is designed to be moveable along the optical axis between the anterior and posterior lenses, creating a dynamic system that can change its optical configuration. This dynamic movement, controlled by the articulating actuator mechanism, allows the IOL to adjust its effective power to correct for both distance and near vision, transforming a static optical system into an adaptive one.
2Productivity
If the moveable lens moves a small linear distance, then the device simplicity is maintained, but the range of optical power generated is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system exploits changes in optical parameters (focal lengths and distances between lenses) rather than requiring large physical movements. By adjusting the spacing between the three lenses through small linear movements of the central lens, the system generates large changes in optical power (6-34 diopters), achieving high productivity with minimal displacement.
3Adaptability or versatility
If an articulating actuator mechanism is added to move the lens, then the optical power range increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The articulating actuator is designed to work with the natural physiological movements of the eye (ciliary muscle contraction and relaxation) to drive the lens movement. Rather than requiring an external power source or complex active control system, the device harnesses the eye's own biological mechanisms to adjust the lens position, reducing the overall system complexity while maintaining adaptability.
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 configuration allows for a larger range of optical power, from 6 to 34 diopters, enabling effective correction for both distance and near vision by leveraging natural eye responses to adjust the lens position, surpassing the limitations of conventional IOLs.
Implementation Method 1
a third, center, moveable lens positioned between the first lens and the second lens and adapted to move linearly along the axis anteriorly in a direction of the first lens or posteriorly in a direction of the second lens
Implementation Method 2
an articulating actuator that contacts the moveable lens and a capsular bag of an eye when the IOL system is implanted in the capsular bag, the articulating actuator adapted to move the moveable lens linearly along the axis
Implementation Method 3
The human eye includes a cornea and a crystalline lens that are intended to focus light that enters the pupil of the eye onto the retina
Implementation Method 4
the optical power of the system, a nominal system optical power, and a nominal distance t1 between a center of the moveable lens and the first lens along the axis
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a three-lens IOL system including a first, anterior lens, a second, posterior lens rigidly connected to the first lens by at least one rigid member such that the second lens is a fixed distance from the first lens along an axis, a third, center, moveable lens positioned between the first lens and the second lens and adapted to move linearly along the axis anteriorly in a direction of the first lens or posteriorly in a direction of the second lens to change an optical power of the system, and an articulating actuator that contacts the moveable lens and a capsular bag of an eye when the IOL system is implanted in the capsular bag, the articulating actuator adapted to move the moveable lens linearly along the axis.