Tip Camera Probe for Vitreoretinal Surgery Aberration Bypass
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vitreoretinal surgery visualization systems face challenges due to optical aberrations caused by eye diseases or prior surgeries, which can prevent clear visualization of the interior of the eye, especially in cases where the cornea or lens is cloudy or there is blood present, leading to increased surgical risks or impossibility of completing procedures.
Innovation Solution
The tip camera system, which includes an optical fiber light source and a camera within a probe or endoscope that illuminates and captures a local view of the eye's interior, providing a digital image that can be displayed alongside an aerial view, allowing for improved visualization through a picture-in-picture display, even in conditions where aberrations or defects hinder light entry or exit.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a conventional optical surgical microscope is used for vitreoretinal surgery, then the surgeon can view the eye structures, but optical aberrations from cloudy cornea or lens prevent clear visualization of the interior
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary imaging system that bypasses the problematic optical path through the cornea and lens. Instead of viewing through these aberrating media, the system uses a camera positioned inside the eye to capture images directly at the retinal level, eliminating the harmful optical aberrations from the visualization path.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from external optical viewing (through the eye's natural optics) to internal imaging (from within the vitreous cavity). This dimensional shift places the imaging source inside the eye, allowing direct capture of retinal images without being affected by corneal or lenticular aberrations.
2Illumination intensity
If external illumination is used to illuminate the eye interior, then the interior can be visualized, but light is blocked by cloudy cornea or lens before reaching the interior
Solution Approach 1:
The illumination source is repositioned from outside the eye to inside the vitreous cavity. This dimensional change allows light to be introduced directly into the eye interior, bypassing the blocking cornea and lens, and illuminating the retinal structures from within the vitreous space.
3Measurement precision
If a tip camera system is implemented to provide clear local view, then visualization improves, but the system complexity increases with additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions into a single integrated probe assembly. The tip camera, illumination fiber, and positioning mechanisms are merged into one unit that can be inserted through existing surgical instruments, reducing the need for separate external imaging equipment and simplifying the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The tip camera system is designed to be compatible with existing vitreoretinal surgical instruments and can be integrated into various surgical procedures. The same basic design can illuminate and image different retinal regions, making the system universally applicable across multiple surgical scenarios without requiring specialized equipment for each procedure.
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 system enhances visualization during vitreoretinal surgery by providing a clear local view of the eye's interior, enabling surgeons to perform procedures more efficiently and safely, even in conditions where current systems fail, by offering a concurrent local and aerial view, thus reducing surgical complications.
Implementation Method 1
an optical fiber positioned within the probe body and that emits light at the probe tip to illuminate a local view of an interior of an eye
Implementation Method 2
a sensor that detects light emitted by the optical fiber and reflected off the interior of the eye
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a tip camera system that includes a probe including a probe body and a probe tip, an optical fiber light source, and an optical fiber positioned within the probe body that emits light at the probe tip to illuminate a local view of an interior of an eye. The system further includes a tip camera positioned in the probe tip and includes a sensor that detects light emitted by the optical fiber and reflected off the interior of the eye, and that sends a signal corresponding to the detected light to a processor. The system also includes an image processing system that includes the processor and that executes instructions to produce a tip camera digital image of the eye. The system also includes a digital display that displays the tip camera digital image of the eye.