Tunable Liquid Crystal Intraocular Lens for Accommodation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current intraocular lens implants fail to provide adequate accommodation range and are limited by material incompatibilities, manufacturing difficulties, and inefficiencies in tunable liquid crystal lenses, leading to insufficient optical power and flexibility, requiring additional visual aids like glasses or contact lenses post-surgery.
Innovation Solution
A biocompatible intraocular lens prosthesis using a tunable liquid crystal optical device with a variable conductivity layer and a buffer substrate to minimize sensitivity to LC cell thickness, operating at low voltages, with a large accommodative clear aperture and low power consumption, and a magnetic bead implant for calibration, providing a spectral transmittance fidelity greater than 75% and optical power change transition time of 0.4 seconds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a fixed focus (monofocal) lens is implanted, then clearer vision post-cataract operation is achieved, but the limited degree of post-operative accommodation (0.5 to 1.5 diopter) requires additional visual aids such as glasses or contact lenses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies a tunable liquid crystal lens that can dynamically change its optical power from a fixed state to a variable state. The liquid crystal material allows the lens to adjust its focal length in response to electrical signals, enabling the implant to provide both clear distance vision and near vision accommodation without requiring additional visual aids.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the lens by using liquid crystal material whose refractive index can be electrically controlled. By varying the electrical voltage applied to the liquid crystal, the optical power of the lens is adjusted, allowing the system to transition between different focal states and provide a range of accommodation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If tunable liquid crystal lenses are used to increase accommodation range, then optical power variability is improved, but manufacturing difficulties and material incompatibilities arise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite material structure combining liquid crystal material with biocompatible encapsulation layers. This composite approach allows the tunable liquid crystal lens to achieve the desired accommodation range while the encapsulation materials protect the liquid crystal and ensure biocompatibility, resolving the manufacturing and material compatibility issues.
3Device complexity
If a single optic flexible prosthesis is used that fills the entire capsular bag, then design simplicity is achieved, but insufficient accommodation variability and material incompatibilities occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the static single optic prosthesis into a dynamic system by incorporating liquid crystal material that can change its optical properties. This allows the simple single-optic design to achieve variable accommodation by electrically tuning the liquid crystal's refractive index, maintaining design simplicity while adding adaptability.
4Adaptability or versatility
If dual optic prostheses are implanted to increase accommodation, then optical power variability is improved to 2.5 diopters, but device complexity and material incompatibilities increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the optical function into a fixed focus component and a tunable liquid crystal component. This segmentation allows the system to achieve the optical power variability of dual optic prostheses (2.5 diopters or more) while maintaining a single integrated device structure, reducing overall device complexity and avoiding material incompatibility issues between multiple separate optics.
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 solution achieves an optical power accommodation greater than 3.5 diopters, with a clear aperture of more than 3 mm, low power consumption below 150 μW, and spectral transmittance fidelity greater than 75% in the visible spectrum, enabling effective and efficient vision correction without the need for additional visual aids.
Implementation Method 1
The liquid crystal layer has a variable refractive index which changes in response to an electric field applied thereto. Applying a non-uniform (spatially modulated) electric field to such liquid crystal layer, provides a liquid crystal layer with a non-uniform (spatially modulated) index of refraction.
Implementation Method 2
The buffer layer softens the gradient of the electric field applied to the LC layer.
Data Source
AI summary
An intraocular adaptive lens prosthesis apparatus is provided. In some implementations the apparatus includes a tunable liquid crystal lens encapsulated in the intraocular prosthesis with control electronics and a power source. In other implementations the apparatus includes a tunable liquid crystal lens encapsulated in the intraocular prosthesis with a control signal receiver while an external control electronics package transmits the control signal. The tunable liquid crystal lens is driven in response to a stimulus signal to provide accommodation. In some embodiments the tunable liquid crystal device corrects other visual shortcomings of the natural eye.