Fluid lens
First Claim
1. A lens comprisinga semipermeable transparent sheath having opposite anterior and posterior portions joined at their edges and forming a closed interior space between themselves;
- a body of liquid within said sheath and filling said interior space, said body of liquid constituting an optical lens whose anterior and posterior surfaces are bounded by said anterior and posterior portions of said sheath, respectively, thus defining the anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens; and
means in said body of liquid for producing within said interior space a concentration which is greater than the concentration of a liquid medium in association with which the lens is to be used, in consequence of which when said lens is in contact with such medium, the interior space will be kept filled with liquid under the influence of osmosis which causes the flow of liquid from the exterior of the sheath to the interior thereof whenever the interior space is less than full thereby maintaining the shape of the lens.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A lens having a semipermeable transparent sheath with opposite anterior and posterior portions joined at their edges and forming a closed interior space between themselves. A body of liquid is provided within the sheath and fills the interior space and constitutes an optical lens whose anterior and posterior surfaces are bounded by the anterior and posterior portions of the sheath, respectively, thus defining the anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens. A substance is provided in the body of liquid for producing within the interior space a concentration which is greater than the concentration of a liquid medium in association with which the lens is to be used, in consequence of which when the lens is in contact with such medium, the interior space will be kept filled with liquid under the influence of osmosis which causes the flow of liquid from the exterior of the sheath to the interior thereof whenever the interior space is less than full thereby maintaining the shape of the lens.
142 Citations
32 Claims
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1. A lens comprising
a semipermeable transparent sheath having opposite anterior and posterior portions joined at their edges and forming a closed interior space between themselves; -
a body of liquid within said sheath and filling said interior space, said body of liquid constituting an optical lens whose anterior and posterior surfaces are bounded by said anterior and posterior portions of said sheath, respectively, thus defining the anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens; and means in said body of liquid for producing within said interior space a concentration which is greater than the concentration of a liquid medium in association with which the lens is to be used, in consequence of which when said lens is in contact with such medium, the interior space will be kept filled with liquid under the influence of osmosis which causes the flow of liquid from the exterior of the sheath to the interior thereof whenever the interior space is less than full thereby maintaining the shape of the lens. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A contact lens, comprising a concave semipermeable transparent element adapted to seat on a human cornea to form therewith a closed interior space which contains a body of physiological liquid produced by the wearer of the element, said body of liquid constituting an optical lens whose anterior surface is bounded by said element and whose posterior surface is bounded by the cornea of the wearer;
- and means carried by said element at its interior for producing within said interior space, when the same contains said body of liquid, a concentration which is greater than the concentration of the physiological solution produced by the wearer of the contact lens, in consequence of which when said element is worn on the cornea, said interior space will be kept filled with liquid under the influence of osmosis which causes the flow of liquid from the exterior of said space to the interior thereof whenever said interior space is less than full.
- View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An ocular lens system for immersion in a physiological fluid comprising:
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a semipermeable sheath including opposing anterior and posterior thin transparent sheets having pores therein, said sheets being joined at their peripheral edges to form a cavity therebetween, said sheath being surrounded by said physiological fluid; and at least one macromolecule located within said cavity, the size of said macromolecule being larger than the pores in said sheets thereby preventing said macromolecule from leaving said cavity, the physiological fluid surrounding said sheath flowing into said cavity through said pores under the influence of osmotic pressure to form an optical lens, said optical lens having a molecular concentration greater than the molecular concentration of the physiological fluid surrounding said sheath. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A method of locating an intraocular lens into an eye or its cornea comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a lens forming device comprising a dehydrated semipermeable transparent sheath having opposite anterior and posterior portions joined at their edges and forming a closed interior space between themselves and means within said interior space for producing within said interior spacing a concentration which is greater than the concentration of the physiological solution produced by the wearer of the lens, in consequence of which when the sheath is worn by the wearer, the sheath will hydrate such that said interior space will be kept filled with liquid under the influence of osmosis and thereby form a lens; (b) making an incision for insertion of the dehydrated semipermeable sheath into the eye; and (c) inserting the dehydrated semipermeable sheath into the eye whereby the dehydrated semipermeable sheath will contact the physiological solution produced by the wearer and hydrate to form a lens. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30)
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31. An ocular lens for immersion in a physiological fluid, comprising:
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a semipermeable transparent sheath defining a fully enclosed cavity and having a plurality of pores for permitting the fluid to flow into said cavity; and a macromolecule disposed within said cavity and having a size that is larger than each of said pores so that, when said sheath is immersed in the fluid, said macromolecule is prevented from leaving said cavity and the presence of said macromolecule sets up a concentration gradient across said sheath so that the fluid will fill the cavity under the influence of osmotic pressure to form an optical lens and stabilize the shape of the sheath. - View Dependent Claims (32)
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Specification