WO2004045467A1

WO2004045467A1 - Ophthalmic lens injection instruments

Info

Publication number: WO2004045467A1
Application number: PCT/GB2003/003188
Authority: WO
Inventors: Terence Arnold Waldock; Stephen Paul Woods
Original assignee: Duckworth & Kent Limited
Priority date: 2002-11-19
Filing date: 2003-07-28
Publication date: 2004-06-03
Also published as: AU2003260691A1; GB0226968D0

Abstract

The instrument comprises a body (10) and a nose (18) which includes a disposable tip (28, 128) which is made of plastics material, for example polycarbonate of PTFE. The tip may be a screw-fit or a push-fit on the body of the instrument, as shown in Figs. (3) and (7), respectively, of the drawings.

Description

OPHTHALMIC LENS INJECTION INSTRUMENTS

This invention relates generally to instruments for use in the insertion of 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 for removing cataracts, for example .

Various forms of injector have been devised for the insertion of such lenses. Typically, such injectors comprise a body portion which carries a plunger which is moveable in a reciprocating manner so as to push the lens through a bore in a nose of the injector, and thus into the incision.

With an instrument of this general type it is necessary thoroughly to clean the bore in the nose of the injector before it is sterilised. This is to remove any traces of salt or salt solution from the bore which could otherwise mark the lens as it is pushed through the bore. A salt solution is used in the surgical procedure. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ophthalmic lens injector where one need no longer be concerned about the need for thorough cleaning of the nose before sterilisation.

Broadly in accordance with the present invention this is achieved by providing at the nose of the instrument a disposable tip which accommodates the bore through which the lens is arranged to pass.

The disposable tip can be secured to the nose by any appropriate means, for example by being screwed into the nose. Although the body of the instrument and the nose at the- forward end of the body are desirably made from a titanium alloy, the disposable tip can be made for example from a polycarbonate material.

According to the present invention, there is provided an ophthalmic lens injector comprising a body portion which carries a plunger which is movable in a reciprocating manner so as to push a lens to be injected through a bore in a nose portion of the injector, wherein the nose portion comprises a disposable tip which accommodates the bore through which the lens is arranged to pass.

The disposable tip may have a screw thread which is received in a complementary thread in the remainder of the nose portion or in the body portion.

In another arrangement, the disposable tip is a push-fit onto the remainder of the nose portion or the body portion.

In such an arrangement, the disposable tip may have a boss which is a push-fit in a socket in the remainder of the nose portion or in the body portion.

Advantageously, the boss has a circumferential ridge which is receivable in a corresponding groove in the socket.

The disposable tip may be of plastics material, for example polycarbonate or polytetrafluoroethylene .

The invention also provides an injector of the invention, in combination with a tip-removal block which has a socket shaped to receive the disposable tip, whereby the tip can be placed in the socket and the injector manipulated to remove the tip from the remainder of the nose portion or from the body portion of the injector.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an injector instrument which embodies a disposable tip in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the instrument shown in Fig. 1, but with the plunger fully depressed after insertion of the lens;

Fi'g. 3 is a plan view of the disposable tip which is arranged to be screwed into the nose of the instrument;

Fig. 4 is a side view, partly in section, of the nose of the instrument into which the disposable tip is screwed; Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the nose of a modified instrument;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the nose of the instrument of Fig. 5; Fig. 7 is a side view of the disposable tip which is arranged to be a push-fit into the nose of the instrument of Fig. 5;

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a compression block for use with the instrument of Figs. 1 to 4 or Figs. 5 to 7; Fig. 9 is a side view of the block of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 10 corresponds to Fig. 9 and shows the block in use.

The disposable tip feature which characterises the present invention is described hereinafter, by way of example, in relation to an ophthalmic lens injector of the type described in our co-pending international patent application filed simultaneously herewith and claiming priority from UK Applications 0217491.0 and 0226677.3. This instrument is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and details of the structure and method of using the instrument are described in the aforesaid patent application, to which reference should be made. The disclosure of that application is incorporated herein by reference. The instrument as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 comprises a body portion 10 which is fitted with a plunger 12 which functions to cause an internal push rod to move forwards through the body to make contact with a lens 14 which is inserted into the instrument, into a delivery position, by the traverse of a carriage 16 across and through a nose 18 of the instrument. The carriage has a thicker portion 17 and a thinner portion 19 which is received in the nose 18 of the instrument.

Movement of the carriage 16 across and through the nose 18 causes the lens 14 to be rolled into a small diameter spiral configuration for delivery. In this position of the carriage 16 relative to the nose 18, the free end of a resilient tongue 40 on the carriage engages in a recess (not shown) in the nose 18. The outer ends 42 of an integral spring portion 44 of the carriage 16 abut the outer surface of the nose and hold the tongue 40 in engagement in its recess in the nose. The carriage is thus held in place by means of a click-stop mechanism.

The forward end of the body 10 and the rearward end of the nose 18 are provided with aligned bores which accommodate a pair of pins 20. The bottom of the body 10 has a forwardly projecting portion 22 which is provided with a single bore in alignment with a bore in the lower portion of the nose 18, to receive a further pin 24. By the use of the pins 20 and 24 the nose 18 is a press fit onto the body 10 of the instrument. Both the body 10 and the nose 18 are made of a titanium alloy. The carriage 16 can be made for example of PEEK material which slides readily relative to the titanium alloy.

From its rolled position ready for delivery, the lens 14 is pushed forward by the push rod (not shown) through a bore 26. The bore 26 is formed axially through a tip 28 which is provided at its rearward end with a screw thread 30, as shown most clearly in Fig. 3. The screw thread 30 is engageable with screw threads 32 provided in a recess 34 at the forward end of the nose 18, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 3, the bore 26 extends the full length of the detachable tip 28. The body 10 and nose 18 of the instrument are preferably made of a titanium alloy, but the tip 28, being disposable, is preferably made of a polycarbonate material.

Figs. 5 to 7 of the drawings show a modified instrument having a disposable tip which is a push-fit into the forward end of the nose of the instrument. Parts of the modified instrument corresponding to those of the instrument of Figs. 1 to 4 are identified by reference numerals which are increased by "100".

The nose 118 of the instrument of Figs. 5 to 7 is connected to the body by pins which are received in bores 121. The nose tip 128 is made from polytetrafluoroethylene ("PTFE") material and is a disposable or semi-disposable part. The nose 118 and nose tip 128 are a push-fit together, this being by way of a bush 136 on the rear end of the nose tip 128 being received in a socket 134 in the front end of the body 118. The bush 136 has a circumferential ridge 130 which is received in a circumferential groove 134 around the cylindrical wall forming the inside of the socket 134. The nose tip 128 has a bore 126 for movement therethrough of a rolled lens. By making the portion of the instrument which carries the delivery bore for the lens disposable, one immediately removes the need for thorough cleaning of this bore prior to re-use of the instrument, as would otherwise be necessary if the bore is made through a one-piece nose of titanium alloy. Such cleaning of the bore is necessary in the case of a non- detachable nose tip, because of the need to remove any traces of salt which may be left following the use of a salt solution in the surgical procedure. Any remaining traces of salt could cause damage to the surface of the lens during its delivery into the incision. The use of the disposable tip of the present invention avoids any such potential problems and simplifies the procedure.

Although polycarbonate and polytetrafluoroethylene have been referred to as materials from which the nose tips 28, 128 are made, either tip could be made from either material or, indeed, from any other suitable material.

Yet again, although the invention has been described above in relation to one particular type of injector instrument, it should be clearly understood that the invention is applicable to any injector for ophthalmic lenses where a rolled or folded lens is to be pushed through a bore to the site of the incision. It is only necessary that the part of the injector which carries the delivery bore is detachable and thus disposable. In particular, the invention is applicable to injectors which do not use a lens rolling delivery system as described above, but which use alternative means for loading the lens into the instrument, whether this is by use of a cartridge or by the use of forceps for example.

Figs. 8 and 9 of the drawings show a compression block 300 which can be used with the instrument of Figs. 1 to 4 or the instrument of Figs. 5 to 7. The block is made from Nylon 66 but any other suitable material, preferably a plastics material, could be used. The block ha a basic cuboid shape measuring about 35 mm by 26 mm by 18 mm. A transverse slot 302 of about 20 mm width and rectangular section extends from one side of the block to the other. The slot 302 has deeper and shallower portions 304, 306 of equal width which are of about 10 mm and about 8 mm deep, respectively. The upper edges of the side walls of the slot are bevelled, as indicated at 307.

A lateral slot 308 opens into the deeper transverse slot portion 304. The lateral slot 308 is also of rectangular section and is about 15 mm in width. The sidewalls of the slot are bevelled, again as indicated at 307. The transverse and lateral slots 302,308 thus form together a slot which is T-shaped in plan.

The compression block 300 is used as follows. Use with the instrument of Figs. 1 to 4 will be described; use with the instrument of Figs. 5 to 7 is exactly equivalent in these respects. After the lens roller base 16 has been pushed fully into the nose portion against the resilient bias of the spring member 44 and the tongue 40 has latched in its recess but prior to delivery of the lens, the instrument is placed in the compression block 300 such that the nose portion 18 lies in the deeper portion 304 of the transverse slot 302, the thicker portion 17 of the lens roller base 130 lies in the shallower portion 306 of the transverse, slot 302 and the thinner portion 19 of the lens roller base 130 lies in the lateral slot 308. In this position, the end surface of the thicker portion 17 and the outer surfaces of the nose portion 14 and the body 10 are urged into contact with the side walls of the transverse slot 302 by the biassing force of the spring member 42 which is deformed further as the instrument is inserted into the block, the bevelling 307 of the upper edges of the side walls of the slots 302,308 facilitating this.

Fig. 10 shows the instrument engaged in the compression block as described above. In this position of the roller base 16 relative to the instrument body 10, the lens is rolled to a diameter, in this embodiment about 1.3 mm, such that it can be delivered easily by the plunger 12 through the bore in the nose 14. In this embodiment, the diameter of the bore is about 1.4 mm. Whilst the instrument is engaged in the block 300, any tendency for the roller base 130 to creep back away from its fully-inserted position against the bias of the arcuate spring portion 42 is resisted by the compression block. This resistance in turn ensures that no significant unrolling of the rolled lens takes place. Such unrolling is undesirable because it is accompanied by an increase in the diameter of the rolled lens which might lead to a tendency for the lens to stick to the walls of the bore through the nose portion tip 14 as it is delivered by the instrument.

It is desirable that the instrument should be held in the compression block 300 for a period of time of, say, at least 30 s before delivery of the lens takes place. This ensures that the lens assumes its fully rolled configuration. It is also important that the lens be delivered by the instrument promptly after removal from the block 300, in order to ensure that no partial unrolling takes place, or, if not delivered within this time period, is returned to the block. The instrument is removed from the block in a simple movement by the surgeon prior to delivery, the movement being a simple upward pivoting movement of the instrument about the point of contact of the forward edge of the nose portion 14 and the floor of the deeper groove portion 304. After delivery of the lens, the tongue 40 is removed from its recess and the roller base 16 withdrawn from the nose portion of the instrument. The instrument can be further dissembled before being cleaned and sterilised prior to further use. The block may be used in an exactly similar manner with the modified instrument of Figs. 5 to 7.

The purpose of the recess 310 in the block when the block is used with an instrument as shown in Figs. 5 to 7 is as follows. It can receive the tip 128 and allow it to be snapped away from the nose portion 18.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. An ophthalmic lens injector comprising a body portion which carries a plunger which is movable in a reciprocating manner so as to push a lens to be injected through a bore in a nose portion of the injector, wherein the nose portion comprises a disposable tip which accommodates the bore through which the lens is arranged to pass.

2. An injector according to claim 1,- in which the disposable tip has a screw thread which is received in a complementary thread in the remainder of the nose portion or in the body portion.

3. An injector according to claim 1, in which the disposable tip is a push-fit onto the remainder of the nose portion or the body portion.

4. An injector according to claim 3, in which the disposable tip has a boss which is a push-fit in a socket in the remainder of the nose portion or in the body portion.

5. An injector according to claim 4, in which the boss has a circumferential ridge which is receivable in a corresponding groove in the socket.

6. An injector according to any preceding claim, in which the disposable tip is of plastics material.

7. An injector according to claim 6, in which the material is polycarbonate or polytetrafluoroethylene.

8. An injector according to any preceding claim, in combination with a tip-removal block which has - a socket shaped to receive the disposable tip, whereby the tip can be placed in the socket and the injector manipulated to remove the tip from the remainder of the nose portion or from the body portion of the injector.

9. An ophthalmic lens injector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figs . 1 to 7 of the drawings .