Active bimodal valve system for real-time IOP control
First Claim
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1. An IOP control system for implantation in an eye of a patient to provide drainage from an anterior chamber of the eye to a drainage location at the eye, comprising:
- a valve system having an open flow position and a closed zero flow position, the open flow position permitting fluid flow through the valve system, the closed zero flow position substantially preventing fluid flow through the valve system, the valve system comprising;
a housing;
a flexible membrane coupled with the housing, the flexible membrane having a first side and a second side;
a chamber bounded by an interior of the housing and a first side of the flexible membrane, the chamber holding an actuation fluid;
an entrance port and an exit port located in the housing adjacent to the second side of the flexible membrane;
a passage located inside the housing, the passage fluidly coupling the entrance port to the exit port;
wherein when the valve system is in the closed zero flow position, the flexible membrane occludes the entrance port;
a sensor system comprising a first sensor arranged to detect a first pressure representative of a real-time parameter of the eye; and
a controller arranged to receive data from the sensor system and compare data representing the detected pressure to a preestablished upper pressure threshold and a preestablished lower pressure threshold to determine whether to change the state of the valve system in a bimodal fashion from one of an open flow position and the closed zero flow position to the other of the open flow position and the closed zero flow position.
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Abstract
An IOP control system provides drainage from an anterior chamber of the eye to a drainage location at the eye. The system has a valve with an open flow position and a closed zero flow position. A sensor system includes a first sensor arranged to detect a first pressure representative of IOP. A controller receives data representing the detected pressure from the sensor system and compares the data to an upper pressure threshold and a lower pressure threshold to determine whether to change the state of the valve system in a bimodal fashion.
203 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An IOP control system for implantation in an eye of a patient to provide drainage from an anterior chamber of the eye to a drainage location at the eye, comprising:
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a valve system having an open flow position and a closed zero flow position, the open flow position permitting fluid flow through the valve system, the closed zero flow position substantially preventing fluid flow through the valve system, the valve system comprising; a housing; a flexible membrane coupled with the housing, the flexible membrane having a first side and a second side; a chamber bounded by an interior of the housing and a first side of the flexible membrane, the chamber holding an actuation fluid; an entrance port and an exit port located in the housing adjacent to the second side of the flexible membrane; a passage located inside the housing, the passage fluidly coupling the entrance port to the exit port; wherein when the valve system is in the closed zero flow position, the flexible membrane occludes the entrance port; a sensor system comprising a first sensor arranged to detect a first pressure representative of a real-time parameter of the eye; and a controller arranged to receive data from the sensor system and compare data representing the detected pressure to a preestablished upper pressure threshold and a preestablished lower pressure threshold to determine whether to change the state of the valve system in a bimodal fashion from one of an open flow position and the closed zero flow position to the other of the open flow position and the closed zero flow position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for treating glaucoma using an IOP control system, comprising:
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receiving an input representing a target pressure range for an eye of a patient, the target pressure range having an upper pressure threshold and a lower pressure threshold the upper and lower thresholds being extreme ends of the range of the target pressure range; detecting with at least one pressure sensor an actual pressure associated with the eye of a patient; comparing the actual pressure to the target pressure range; and actuating a valve in a bimodal manner between a drainage flow-permitting condition and a drainage flow-preventing condition based on the comparison of the actual pressure to the target pressure range; wherein actuating the valve in the drainage flow-preventing condition comprises performing electrolysis on an actuator fluid held in a chamber bounded by an interior of a valve housing and a side of a flexible membrane, such that a gas produced by electrolysis deflects the flexible membrane thereby occluding a port in the valve housing. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification