Transparent Stent for Retinal Detachment with Segmented Pressure Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for treating retinal detachment, such as using a balloon to reattach the retina, often lead to increased intraocular pressure, causing complications like headache or glaucoma.

Innovation Solution

A transparent stent is introduced into the vitreous body, expansively deformed to bring the retina into contact with the retinal pigment epithelium, reducing the contact area and minimizing pressure, thereby preventing intraocular pressure increases.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a balloon is used to press the entire inner peripheral surface of the retina for a predetermined period, then the retina can be tightly fixed to the retinal pigment epithelium, but the intraocular pressure increases causing headache or glaucoma

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveretina fixationVSAvoidintraocular pressure increase

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The balloon is divided into multiple independent pressing portions (first pressing portion, second pressing portion, etc.) that can apply pressure to different segments of the retina separately. This segmentation allows the pressing force to be distributed across multiple contact points rather than concentrating pressure on the entire retinal surface, thereby reducing overall intraocular pressure while maintaining effective retina fixation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Each pressing portion of the balloon is designed with specific pressing capabilities tailored to different retinal regions. The balloon can apply localized pressure only where needed for retina fixation, rather than uniformly pressing the entire inner peripheral surface. This local quality approach reduces unnecessary pressure on healthy retinal areas, preventing excessive intraocular pressure increase while ensuring reliable retina reattachment at target sites.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Object-affected harmful factors

If a transparent stent composed of linear objects is used to bring retina into contact with retinal pigment epithelium, then contact area is reduced preventing intraocular pressure increase, but the complexity of the device increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveintraocular pressure controlVSAvoidstent structure

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The stent is designed with expandable characteristics, transitioning from a compressed delivery state to an expanded functional state within the eye. This dynamic transformation allows the complex multi-linear-object structure to be introduced through a small incision in a compact form, then expanded to provide multiple contact points with the retina. The dynamic nature enables the device to achieve its complex geometry only when needed for treatment, simplifying the introduction process while maintaining the beneficial reduced contact area properties.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS10143586B2Treatment method and stent

Publication Date: 2018.12.04 TERUMO KK

AI summary

A treatment method is provided that includes an introduction step of introducing a transparent stent into a vitreous body of an eyeball, an expansion step of causing the stent to expansively deform inside the vitreous body to bring a retina into contact with a retinal pigment epithelium, and a placement step of placing the stent in the vitreous body with the stent keeping the retina in contact with the retinal pigment epithelium.