Abstract:
An artificial cornea comprising: an optical section having a front face and a back face and made of an optically transparent material; and a supporting section for surrounding at least a part of the optical section to support the same, characterized in that a collar section radially protruded outward from the support section is provided on the support section in its side facing the interior of an eye in the enthesis of the artificial cornea. The artificial cornea can successfully adhere to the eye tissue, prevent the outflow of aqueous humor within the eye and the invasion of bacteria into the eye, and reduce the irritation of eyelid conjunctiva. Further, it can inhibit the progress of downgrowth and causes none of a lowering in transparency of the opical section caused by the downgrowth and lifting or dropout of the artificial cornea from the buried state.
Abstract:
Implants comprising active agents are employed for introduction into a suprachoroidal space or an avascular region of an eye for therapeutic purposes. The administration of drugs is controlled and maintained for long periods of time, while ensuring the substantial absence of significant levels outside the site of administration.
Abstract:
Presbyopia and hyperopia are treated by increasing the amplitude of accommodation by increasing the effective working distance of the ciliary muscle. To this end, the sclera over the ciliary body is expanded by suturing thereto a relatively rigid band slightly larger than the sclera, surgical alloplasty, or by weakening the sclera by surgery or treatment with enzymes, heat or radiation, which then expands due to intraocular pressure. The scleral expansion band (102) comprises an anterior (108) and posterior (106) rim, and a web (104) extending between the rims. The band may be provided with one or more holes to assist in suturing. The same goal is achieved by shortening the zonules by application of heat or radiation or by surgery. Presbyopia is arrested by inhibiting the continued growth of the crystalline lens by application of heat, radiation or antimitotic drugs to the epithelium of the lens. Primary open angle glaucoma and/or ocular hypertension can be prevented and/or treated by increasing the effective working distance of the ciliary muscle.
Abstract:
A collagen-hydrogel material, artificial lens (60) or contact lens (60) for the eye (40) fabricated from the collagen-hydrogel, which, when affixed to Bowman's membrane (48), promotes and supports epithelial cell growth (52) enabling corneal epithelium, during the healing process, to attach to and cover the lens (60) and to regenerate the stroma (50) which grows over the edge of and attaches to the optical lens (60). The collagen-hydrogel is a hydrogel polymer formed by the free radical polymerization of a hydrophilic monomer solution gelled and crosslinked in the presence of an aqueous stock solution of collagen to form a three dimensional polymeric meshwork for anchoring collagen. The collagen-hydrogel material has a ratio by weight of collagen-to-hydrogel in the range of about .6-to-1000 and less than .6-to-1000 but at a level wherein sufficient collagen is present by weight to at least one of promote epithelial cell growth (52) and regeneration of the stroma (50).
Abstract:
Surgical instruments (10, 30), surgical techniques, grafts (63, 50), cell and tissue isolation techniques, and a method for transplanting retinal cells, including photoreceptors (54), retinal pigment epithelium, and choroidea within their normal configuration, or all three tissues in a co-transplantation procedure are provided.
Abstract:
Multifocal lenses (1) are formed having a substantially circular central region (22) having a first optical power, surrounded by a plurality of concentric ring regions (24, 26, 28, 30) which alternate between at least two optical powers, one of which may be the first optical power. Preferably, the central region (22) is powered for near vision. For example, one embodiment of the invention is a bifocal lens (1) having a central near-vision portion (22), a first concentric ring region (24) powered for distance vision, and a second concentric ring region (26) having the same power as the central region (22).
Abstract:
A venous reservoir in which a blood inlet (42) is located at an inlet end (70) of the container (48) which extends upwardly with a fast rise and for a sufficient distance to allow the blood entering the inlet to enter a large volume and to expand rapidly. The top (74) of the inlet end wall (70) of the container communicates with a vent outlet (46) whereby a sharp decrease in the velocity of the blood flow resulting from its rapid expansion provides buoyancy to air in the blood causing air bubbles to rise to the top of the container and be vented through the vent opening. A top wall (76) of the container extends from the vent opening and toward a blood outlet (44), with the top wall being curved in a manner to prevent the velocity of blood from increasing until the blood is substantially at the blood outlet. The top wall (76) includes a curved portion (80) opposite to the inlet end (70) whereby the air bubbles that have not been discharged immediately upon entering the reservoir may flow back up the top wall to the vent opening.
Abstract:
An improved coupling method and device for an ocular prosthesis (23) to a porous polyethylene implant (11) is provided. According to the invention, small surgical screws (19) having a domed head is inserted into a porous plastic implant (11) after the implant has been implanted into an enucleated orbit allowed to vascularize. The domed head projects from the anterior surface of the implant which is covered by conjunctive tissue (17) and is received by a complementary cavity on the rear surface of the ocular prosthesis (23).
Abstract:
A device (102, 102a, 102b, 102''') for refractive correction of the eye in order to improve the vision of the eye is disclosed. The device is an intrastromal corneal ring where the cone angle "N" ( theta ) is varied according to the desired change in corneal refractive properties. That is, the cone angle is selected to effect a desired change in refractive correction of the eye.
Abstract:
Apparatus and methods are described that project images onto the retina of an eye. The apparatus can include an image memory element (22) for storing an image signal representative of a visual image, a projection element (12) in electrical circuit with the image memory element for generating an optical image signal of the type suitable for detection by a retina and being representative of the visual image, and a focus element (20) that is adapted for implantation into the eye at a position in the eye which is posterior to the cornea and anterior to the retina and that is optically coupled to the projection element (12) for forcussing the optical image onto the retina. The projection element (12) can include a display device (14) that is dimensionally adapted for disposition within the eye at a position posterior to the cornea. The display device (14) can be a liquid crystal display element that has an illuminator element (16) optically coupled to the display device or alternatively can include a laser diode (72) element that optically couples to a scanning mirror that projects light through a damaged cornea.