Dexterous manipulation devices are provided having an end effector enabling large curvature with a diameter of 1 mm or less that can articulate about an axis in a working space of about or less than 4 mm by 4 mm. Preferred devices are robotically actuated and controlled and can be used for a variety of therapeutic and diagnostic applications.

A device for applying a bubble of a substance to a tissue surface, the device comprising a cannula, a distal tip at the distal end portion of the cannula, the distal tip having a bubble support surface and an exit port extending through the bubble support surface, an expansion fluid passageway extending through the cannula to the exit port, a source of an expansion fluid and an actuator therefor. In some arrangements, the distal tip can be configured to support a layer of the substance thereon over the distal port and the device can be configured such that the advancement of the expansion fluid from the fluid source through the exit port causes at least one bubble of the substance to form on the distal tip, wherein the at least a portion of the bubble can be transferred to the tissue surface to treat a defect on the tissue surface.

A rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) occurs when a tear in the retina leads to fluid accumulation with a separation of the neurosensory retina from the underlying retinal pigment epithelial (RPE); this is the most common type of retinal detachment and can lead to blindness. The present invention features an eye shape modification (ESM) system (a scleral buckle) for the prevention and repair of retinal detachment as well for the adjustment of refractive error and the prevention of induced refractive error caused by scleral buckles. The present invention creates a scleral buckle with protuberances on the interior surface of the buckle. These protuberances produce corrugation/indentations in the eye which allows for both axial and circumferential relaxation. Additionally, the present invention creates on scleral buckle that remove excess bulky material from the scleral buckle band, producing a scleral buckle that is easier and safer to surgically implant onto the eye.

Syringe drivers and injector devices are provided. The driver includes a housing including a port communicating with a gas chamber therein and connectable to an external air source, and a cavity that receives a syringe containing an agent. A drive piston within the housing includes a first end disposed adjacent the gas chamber and a second end including a plunger connectable to the syringe. A damping mechanism is provided within that housing that is coupled to the drive piston that includes a damper piston within a damping fluid chamber such that, when the drive piston is advanced by gas delivered into the gas chamber from the external source to deliver the agent from the syringe, damping fluid within the damping fluid chamber flows through an orifice or valve from a first region to the second region, thereby limiting movement of the drive piston.

A cannula device for draining sub-retinal fluid externally to the eye includes a shaft, an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve. The outer sleeve and the inner sleeve have a curve therein to access the back of the eye externally. The outer sleeve is extendable relative to the inner sleeve and the shaft, and the outer sleeve includes a penetrative tip to penetrate the sclera and provide access to the sub-retinal fluid to the inner sleeve.

Embodiments described herein generally relate to apparatus and methods for verifying the concentration of mixed gas to be used for ophthalmic administration. In an embodiment is provided a method that includes introducing a first portion of mixed gas into a chamber, determining a temperature change of the first portion which is indicative of a parameter of the first portion, determining that the parameter satisfies a predetermined value, and introducing a second portion of mixed gas into a patient's eye. In another embodiment is provided a method that includes exposing an element inside a chamber to a first portion of mixed gas, determining a change in a physical characteristic of the element that changes in response to a stimulus, the physical characteristic indicative of a parameter of the first portion, determining that the parameter satisfies a predetermined value, and introducing a second portion of mixed gas into a patient's eye.

The present invention provides devices to access the suprachoroidal space or sub-retinal space in an eye via a minimally invasive transconjunctival approach. The devices may also be used after a partial dissection, for example after dissection of the outer scleral layer of the eye, and using the device within the dissection to access the suprachoroidal space or the sub-retinal space.

The present invention provides devices to access the suprachoroidal space or sub-retinal space in an eye via a minimally invasive transconjunctival approach. The devices may also be used after a partial dissection, for example after dissection of the outer scleral layer of the eye, and using the device within the dissection to access the suprachoroidal space or the sub-retinal space.

An optical switch incorporated in a photomedical system, and a method of treating tissue using the optical switch for creating pulsed light. A light source generates an optical beam. An aperture element includes a light-transmitting portion and a light-blocking portion. An optical element such as a mirror, prism or lens directs the optical beam to the aperture element, wherein the optical element is movable for translating the optical beam across the light-transmitting and light-blocking portions of the aperture element, or changing its angle of incidence through the aperture to produce one or more pulses of light from the optical beam. A lens focuses the one or more pulses of the optical beam onto target tissue. A controller controls the movement of the optical element to produce the one or more pulses of light.

The present invention includes a device for effecting deformation of a sclera of an eye, including an expandable, mesh tube having holes dispersed through an entire surface thereof and with first and second tapered ends, and inserted unexpanded to deform the sclera when expanded. A central portion is intrascleral, with the first and second tapered ends external to the sclera on top of an intact scleral surface to deform during expansion, and simultaneously causes the sclera to be deformed so that the sclera moves towards the inside of the eye while simultaneously causing the sclera to move towards the outside of the eye. The mesh tube includes struts, connecting points of the struts are of different sizes, the first and second tapered ends and the connecting points within the tapered ends are thicker than the connecting points of the mesh tube, and the mesh tube includes fixation tabs.