Microsurgery for Treatment of Glaucoma
First Claim
1. A method for performing microsurgery on an eye, the method comprising:
- cutting a portion of the eye'"'"'s sclera to expose a Schlemm'"'"'s canal of the eye;
inserting a catheter into the Schlemm'"'"'s canal, the catheter including a microknife;
deploying the microknife into a cutting position;
cutting with the microknife through an inner wall of the Schlemm'"'"'s canal and into a volume of a surrounding trabecular meshwork; and
removing the catheter and microknife from the Schlemm'"'"'s canal.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Surgical procedures and devices are used for treating medical conditions in the eye such as glaucoma. In particular, access to Schlemm'"'"'s canal in the eye is obtained by cutting through a portion of the sclera to expose the canal. This incision may be made using a fixture that guides a microknife to make a precise cut. A catheter containing a knife may then be placed within Schlemm'"'"'s canal, and the knife can be actuated to a position outside the catheter to allow an incision to be made. This incision may be made through the wall of the canal and into the surrounding trabecular meshwork, thereby improving the drainage of the aqueous humor from the eye and lowering the intraocular pressure.
69 Citations
40 Claims
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1. A method for performing microsurgery on an eye, the method comprising:
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cutting a portion of the eye'"'"'s sclera to expose a Schlemm'"'"'s canal of the eye; inserting a catheter into the Schlemm'"'"'s canal, the catheter including a microknife; deploying the microknife into a cutting position; cutting with the microknife through an inner wall of the Schlemm'"'"'s canal and into a volume of a surrounding trabecular meshwork; and removing the catheter and microknife from the Schlemm'"'"'s canal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A device for performing microsurgery on an eye, the device comprising:
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a fixture configured to be mounted over an eye; a catheter having a curved length and a cross section suitable for insertion into a Schlemm'"'"'s canal of the eye, the catheter including a deployable knife located therein; a rotatable member rotatably coupled to the fixture, the rotatable member further coupled to the catheter to enable rotation of the catheter relative to the fixture, the rotation being approximately about an optical axis of the eye; and an actuator operably coupled to the catheter for deploying the knife into a cutting position. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A device for performing microsurgery on an eye, the device comprising:
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a catheter including a microknife deployable into a cutting position; means for locating the catheter in a Schlemm'"'"'s canal of the eye; and means for deploying the catheter to cut through the inner wall of the Schlemm'"'"'s canal and into a volume of a surrounding trabecular meshwork. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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34. A device for performing microsurgery on an eye, the device comprising:
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a fixture configured to he mounted over an eye, the fixture including a guiding slot; a slidable member configured to fit within and move along the guiding slot; and s a microknife attached to the slidable member, wherein the guiding slot is oriented to guide the microknife to cut into a Schlemm'"'"'s canal of the eye when the fixture is mounted on the dye. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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Specification