Injectors for intraocular lenses

Details Injectors for intraocular lenses Injectors for intraocular lenses

1999-08-25

2001-03-20

Hirsch, Paul J. (Department: 3732)

Surgery

Instruments

Means for removing, inserting or aiding in the removal or...

Reexamination Certificate

active

06203549

ABSTRACT:

This invention relates to instruments for inserting an intraocular lens into an eye. It is necessary in certain ophthalmic surgical procedures to insert an intraocular lens through a small incision, such as in the phacoemulsification technique of removing cataracts.
One particular instrument for carrying out this procedure is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,102 (Bartell). In this instrument the intraocular lens is placed within a hinged, generally cylindrical load chamber having a pair of flanges. The load chamber is folded around the intraocular lens, so that the lens itself becomes folded or rolled along its length. The load chamber is fitted into an injector portion which has a slot which is keyed to the flanges of the load chamber. The injector portion and load chamber are then fitted into an insertion cone which defines a lumen for passage of the lens through the lumen. A plunger which is inserted into the injector portion is then used to push the lens through the lumen and into the eye. The folded intraocular lens opens out into its flattened form as it emerges from the distal end of the insertion cone.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,102 the insertion cone, the load chamber and the injector portion are all separate pieces, preferably made of moulded plastics material, so that they can be disposed of after a single use. This means of course that there is a continuing expense in the use of the instrument and it is also necessary to have available a supply of parts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an instrument for the insertion of intraocular lenses which does not involve the use of disposable parts.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an instrument for the insertion of intraocular lenses in which the lens is not folded within a load chamber.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide an instrument for the insertion of intraocular lenses in which the lens can be placed easily into the instrument for subsequent injection.
The instrument of the present invention, dispensing as it does with disposable parts, is adapted for repeated use, with appropriate sterilisation, and can be made for example of titanium or a titanium alloy. One can produce an extremely accurately machined instrument which is easy both to load and to use.
In accordance with the present invention there is provided an instrument for the insertion of an intraocular lens into an eye, which comprises a body portion, a nose portion forward of the body portion and having a lumen through which the lens is arranged to pass, and a plunger movable through the body portion and the nose portion, wherein the nose portion is pivotally connected to the body portion for the receipt of an intraocular lens therein in a pivotally opened position.
Preferably, the nose portion is hingedly connected to the forward end of the body portion and is movable between open and closed positions in a manner similar to the opening and closing of a shotgun barrel. In the broken open position the lens can be inserted and then the nose portion is closed and locked into place for the operation then of the plunger to dispense the lens from the nose portion.
In a preferred embodiment, the lumen or internal channel through the nose portion reduces in cross-section in a smoothly continuous way so that as the lens passes deeper into the nose portion it is constrained to fold for dispensation through the tip of the nose portion.
According to a further preferred feature of the invention, the nose portion is pivotally mounted on a forward extension of the body portion, so that the hinge position is forward of the body portion and so that the nose portion, when in the open position, is spaced from the body portion to facilitate the placement of a lens into position in the nose.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an instrument for the insertion of intraocular lenses in which the lens which is to be inserted is laid on support means which not only serves as a guide for the lens in its onward movement through the nose, but also facilitates the positioning of the lens correctly within the instrument.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided an instrument for the insertion of an intraocular lens into an eye wherein there is provided support means for the lens which defines an undulating support surface for the lens.
Preferably, the support means comprises two parallel spaced nose pins whose surfaces define the undulating support surface for the lens.
The pins are preferably set into the rear end of the nose portion of the instrument.
The advantage of an undulating support surface for the lens, for example as provided by the two pins, is that this configuration also helps to centralise the forceps which are used to place the lens within the instrument. Additionally, the use of two spaced pins or an equivalent surface configuration helps to guide the lens into the funnel or lumen through which the lens has to pass. The space between the two pins, or the valley in some other equivalent configuration, allows the lens more easily to fold about its centre as it is pushed forward through the nose portion of the instrument.
Preferably the instrument includes a cross pin extending transversely across the path of the lens and beneath which the lens is arranged to pass. Preferably, the cross pin straddles the nose pins. The main purpose of the cross pin is to prevent lifting or tilting of the lens both on insertion into the nose and in its passage towards the tip.
In order that the invention may be more fully understood, a number of preferred embodiments of lens injector in accordance with the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:
FIG. 1
a
shows a plan view of a first embodiment of injector in accordance with the invention, in the closed position;
FIG. 1
b
is the side view of the injector of
FIG. 1
a;
FIG. 2
shows the injector according to
FIG. 1
b
, but with the injector in the opened position;
FIG. 3
shows internal details of the lens injector of
FIGS. 1 and 2
, and is shown with the plunger fully depressed;
FIG. 4
shows the lens injector of
FIG. 3
, in side view, and with the plunger retracted;
FIG. 5
shows the lens injector of
FIG. 4
, but from below;
FIG. 6
is a plan view of the main body of the lens injector;
FIG. 7
is the side view of the main body of the lens injector shown in
FIG. 6
;
FIG. 8
is a side view of the plunger and push rod of the lens injector;
FIG. 9
is the view of the plunger and push rod of
FIG. 8
, from below;
FIG. 10
is the view on arrow A in
FIG. 9
;
FIG. 11
is the front end view of the push rod, viewed from the left-hand end as shown in
FIG. 10
;
FIG. 12
is a plan view of the two-part nose assembly of the lens injector;
FIG. 13
is the side view of the nose assembly shown in
FIG. 12
;
FIG. 14
is the underneath plan view of the nose assembly shown in
FIGS. 12 and 13
;
FIG. 15
shows the front portion of the nose assembly, in top plan view;
FIG. 16
shows the front portion of the nose assembly of
FIG. 15
, in side view;
FIG. 16
a
is the view on the right-hand end of
FIG. 16
;
FIG. 17
shows the front portion of the nose assembly of
FIGS. 15 and 16
, in underneath plan view;
FIGS. 18
,
19
and
20
are plan, side and underneath plan views respectively of the outer sleeve which in combination with the front portion shown in
FIGS. 15
to
17
forms the nose assembly shown in
FIGS. 12
to
14
;
FIG. 21
is a side view of a second embodiment of lens injector in accordance with the invention, with the plunger retracted;
FIG. 22
shows the lens injector of
FIG. 21
, but from below;
FIG. 23
is the top plan view of the lens injector of
FIG. 21
, with the plunger fully depressed;
FIG. 24
is the side view of the front piece of the nose portion of the lens injector;
FIG. 25
is the end view taken in the direction of the arrow XXV in
FIG. 24
;
FIG. 26
is the plan view of the front piece of the nose portion shown in
FI

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