NL2012032C - Cell-tight barrier component for accommodating intraocular lens. - Google Patents

Description

Cell-tight barrier component for accommodating intraocular lens

Intra Ocular Lenses (henceforth abbreviated to:’IOLs’) are implanted in the eye by an eye-surgeon to replace the natural lens when the natural lens lost its optical function due to, for example, formation of cataract. Current IOLs are generally monofocal lenses providing a optical power in the order of +18-22 Diopters (henceforth: ‘D’) to correct the refraction of the aphakic, the lens-less, and presbyope, non-accommodative, eye with the specific optical focusing power (also: ‘optical power’ or ‘focusing power’) depending on the refractive requirements of the individual eye. The monofocal lens provides the eye with a single optical power. The optical power of the IOL is generally such that eye becomes emmetrope, or, in practice, close to emmetrope, meaning that the distance at which a objects appear sharp is, in theory, at ‘infinity’, in practice, at ‘over 6 meters’.

Presently truly Accommodative Intra Ocular Lenses (henceforth:’AIOLs’) are being developed which such AIOLs providing the eye, firstly, with a fixed correction for basic refraction, as do non-accommodating mono-focal IOLs, but such AIOLs also provide the eye with, secondly, a variable focus which, ideally, ranges from a lower limit required to maintain said emmetropia, sharp distance vision, at with the variable lens provides a optical power close to zero D so that, as a total sum, only the optical power of the fixed refractive lens remains, to an upper limit of optical power of the variable lens required for close up sharp vision, for, for example, reading, equivalent to, say, +2-3 D of optical power which allows for a sharp vision at a distance of ~40cm.

Prior art discloses several concepts for such AIOLs, including, for example prior art documents US2009062912, NL1025622, WO2011065833 and US2010094413 and related documents thereto and related documents mentioned therein which prior art discloses a concept for an AIOL which includes a variable lens comprising at least two optical elements and at least two cubic, two free-form, surfaces, with at least one such cubic surface fitted to each optical element, in such construction that the variable lens is adapted to provide a variable optical power to the eye of which the optical power depends on the degree of mutual shift of the optical elements in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis, with the movement, the perpendicular shift of the optical elements generated by the ciliary muscle of the eye.

Prior art documents US2010324673 and US2004015236 disclose a concept for an AIOL which employs a variable lens comprising at least two optical elements with two convex lenses or, alternatively, at least one convex and one concave lens fitted to two optical elements, both elements fitted with a convex lens, or, alternatively, one element fitted with the convex lens and the other element with the concave lens, in a traditional telescopic arrangement, for example a Galilean telescopic arrangement, with the construction of the AIOL being such that the variable lens is adapted to provide a variable optical power to the eye of which the optical power depends on the degree of mutual movement of the optical elements and consequently the lenses fitted thereto in opposite directions along the optical axis, parallel to the optical axis, with the lens based in the capsular bag and movement of the optical elements generated by the ciliary muscle.

Post Cataract Opafication (PCO) is a degradation of the capsular bag from which the natural lens is removed. Floating cells, free-flaoting cells, generally fibrinogenous cells, in the eye settle on the anterior surface of the posterior section of the bag following surgery, the cells start to grow, harden the bag and opacify the bag. PCO can be prevented by designing sharp edges around intraocular lenses implanted in the bag. Clearly, exactly this solution can not be applied to lenses outside the bag. To cure PCO a YAG laser treatment can remove a central section of the bag and restore transparency. This treatment can be applied to eyes with lenses in the bag and lenses outside the bag, for example lenses in the sulcus.

For example, the posterior surface of a lens described above, meaning a lens with at least two shifting optical elements, will be in contact with at least one surface of the capsular bag. So, to prevent PCO, free-floating cells should be prevented to enter the space between said posterior surface and the capsular bag after surgery.

[1] We disclose, for an accommodating intraocular lens, lens, comprising optics to project an image on the retina, and haptics to anchor the lens in the eye, and supporting components, with the optics including at least two optical elements with at least one free-form optical surface each, with the combination of free-form surfaces adapted to provide a variable lens of which the degree of optical power depends on the degree of mutual shift of the optical elements in a direction largely perpendicular to the optical axis, with the shift of the optical elements driven by the ciliary muscle of the eye and with said haptics adapted to provide fixation of the accommodating intraocular lens in the sulcus of the eye at least one barrier-component to provide a barrier to free-floating cells in the eye to enter the space in between the posterior surface of the lens and the capsular bag.

[2, 3, 4, 5] Such barrier-component can comprising at least one ridge adapted to provide said cell-tight barrier by pressing against the capsular bag, with said barrier-component being, for example, a ring fitted to the posterior surface of the lens with the ring providing said cell-tight barrier, with the ring, for example, comprising a largely triangular profile with at least one sharp edge of the triangular ring pressing against the capsular bag to provide said barrier, or, alternatively, a smooth rounded ring to provide such barrier but also allowing the capsular bag to slide over the barrier as not to block accommodative shift of the optical elements, which blockage might occur with barriers with a sharp edge.

Illustrations: Figure 1 (lateral view) and Figure 2 (top view): Accommodating intraocular lens, in this example, a lens according to, for example, prior art documents US2009062912, NL1025622, WO2011065833 and US2010094413 and related documents, with optics including two optical elements, 1, each comprising a free-form surface, 2, with the combination of said free-form surfaces forming the variable lens, and with the posterior element also comprising a lens of fixed optical power, 3, to correct the basic refraction of the eye, and with the lens comprising two haptics, 4, for positioning of the lens in the sulcus with the flange of the haptics comprising undulations to prevent rotation of the lens in the sulcus with the lens comprising a cell-tight barrier, in this example a circular ridge, 5, fitted to the circumference of the posterior optical surface, 6, with one edge of the cell-tight barrier connecting to the capsular bag, 7, to provide said cell-tight barrier, to prevent floating cells to enter the space, 8, between the posterior optical surface of the lens and the capsular bag, with, as an insert in the illustration, an example of a ring with a largely half-tubular, or rounded, smooth, edge, 9.

So, the present document discloses an accommodating intraocular lens, lens, comprising optics to project an image on the retina, and haptics to anchor the lens in the eye, and supporting components, with the optics including at least two optical elements with at least one free-form optical surface each which free-form optical surfaces have such a shape that the combination of at least two such free-form surfaces forms a variable lens of which the degree of optical power depends on the degree of mutual shift of the optical elements in a direction largely perpendicular to the optical axis, with the shift of the optical elements driven by a driver, which driver is the ciliary muscle of the eye, or, alternatively, an artificial driver, which artificial driver can comprise, for example, at least one MEMS-component, with said haptics adapted to provide fixation of the accommodating intraocular lens in the sulcus of the eye with the lens also comprising at least one cell-tight barrier component which component connects to the capsular bag to provide a barrier to floating cells in the eye to enter the space in between the posterior surface of the lens and the capsular bag, which cell-tight barrier component can comprise at least one ridge adapted to provide said barrier by connecting to the capsular bag, which barrier component can be a ridge in the form of a ring with the ring fitted to the posterior surface of the lens with the ring adapted to provide said barrier, with the ring having a largely triangular profile with at least one sharp edge, to maximize the tightness of the barrier, or, alternatively, the having a largely half-tubular profile with at least one smooth edge to combine cell-tightness with sliding of the ring over the capsular bag surface to prevent blocking said shifting movement of the optical element.

Claims (8)

A accommodating intraocular lens, comprising optics for projecting an image onto the retina, and haptics for anchoring the lens in the eye, and supporting components, wherein the optics comprise at least two optical elements with at least one optical surface with at least one each free form, the free-form optical surfaces having a shape such that the combination of at least two such free-form surfaces forms a variable lens whose optical power level depends on the degree of mutual shift of the optical elements in a direction substantially perpendicular to the optical axis, wherein the shift of the optical elements is driven by a drive device and wherein the haptic is arranged to fix the accommodating intraocular lens in the sulcus of the eye, characterized in that the lens is also comprises at least one cell-tight barrier component, which component is connected to the capsule bag n to form a barrier for floating cells in the eye, to enter the space between the rear surface of the lens and the capsule bag. Accommodating lens according to claim 1, characterized in that the lens comprises a cell-tight barrier component, which comprises at least one ledge adapted to form the barrier through a connection to the capsule bag. 3. Accommodating lens as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the lens comprises at least one barrier component, which is a ridge in the form of a ring arranged on the rear surface of the lens, the ring being adapted to remove the barrier to shape. Accommodating lens as claimed in claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lens comprises at least one such ring, the ring having a substantially triangular profile with at least one sharp edge. Accommodating lens according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the lens comprises at least one such ring, the ring having a substantially semi-tubular profile with at least one smooth edge. Accommodating lens according to any combination of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lens is driven by a drive device, which drive device is the ciliary muscle of the eye. Accommodating lens according to any combination of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the lens is driven by a drive device, which drive device is an artificial drive device. 8. Accommodating lens according to claim 6, characterized in that the lens is driven by a drive device, which drive device is an artificial drive device, which artificial drive device comprises at least one MEMS component.