A work tip for a surgical hand piece has a solid blade connected to a source of ultrasonic energy in the hand piece. The knife has grooves in its surfaces. The work tip further including an irrigation and aspiration tubes extending along opposite surfaces of the blade and being at least partially within the grooves. The blade has a collar adjacent its distal end and at least the aspiration tube extends ends at a distance from the collar. The edges of the collar are made sharp enough to emulsify cataract tissue when vibrated at ultrasonic frequencies so that occlusion of the aspiration tube is prevented.

A phacoemulsification handpiece is provided for ophthalmic surgery. The phacoemulsification handpiece includes a housing having a cavity positioned at a distal end of the housing. The phacoemulsification handpiece further includes a horn positioned within the cavity. An irrigation line is coupled to the housing and is exterior to the housing. A port is coupled between the irrigation line and the cavity and the port is configured to direct fluid into the cavity to a side of the horn (e.g., without directly impinging on the horn, etc.).

Devices to perform femtolaser ablation and phacoemulsification are physically and/or operationally combined. In some embodiments the femtolaser ablation and phacoemulsification are housed together, and in other embodiments they are housed separately, but operated through a common display screen. At least some software can be shared by the femtolaser ablation and phacoemulsification functionalities. A non-transitory computer-readable memory can provide data that can be used to operate each of at least one femtolaser ablation functionality and at least one phacoemulsification functionality.

A vibrating tissue separator suitable for use in separating a lenticule established by a femtosecond laser during a smile procedure may include a surgical implement such as a blunt spatula mounted on a handle that carries a haptic actuator for applying vibratory motion to the surgical implement. A damping arrangement may be provided to isolate the surgeons hand from the vibrations which would otherwise be transmitted through the handle. The actuator may apply a linear vibration along the axis of the handle which applies a lifting and chopping motion to the tip of a surgical implement having a bend. The tip may be suitable to the tissue being separated. For example, for SMILE lenticule separation, a blunt or semi-sharp spatula, blunted wire or loop may be used. The direction of vibration at the tip may be changed by rotating the implement in a plane other than the plane of the bend or by rotating an actuator such as an LRA with respect to the handle.

In one embodiment, a fluid dynamics system includes a solenoid valve including a valve body, which includes a valve cavity having a direction of elongation, a first channel, and a second channel, a solenoid coil disposed in the valve body around the valve cavity, and a plunger comprising a magnetic element and configured to move back-and-forth along the direction of elongation between a first position and a second position in the valve cavity, selectively opening the first channel and closing the second channel when the plunger is in the first position, and closing the first channel and opening the second channel when the plunger is in the second position, and a controller configured to control the solenoid coil to selectively move the plunger between the first position and the second position, and to selectively maintain the plunger in the first position and the second position.

In one embodiment, an irrigated medical system includes a medical tool, an irrigation line configured to fluidically connect an irrigation reservoir storing irrigation fluid to the medical tool, and provide at least some of the irrigation fluid to the medical tool, a force sensor configured to be coupled with the irrigation reservoir, and provide a signal responsively to a force exerted by the irrigation reservoir on the force sensor over time as irrigation fluid in the irrigation reservoir is depleted, and a controller configured to find an irrigation rate of the irrigation fluid flowing in the irrigation line responsively to the signal.

In one example, a phacoemulsification system includes a phacoemulsification probe including a distal end comprising a needle, and a piezoelectric crystal configured to vibrate the needle so as to emulsify a lens of an eye, an irrigation reservoir configured to store irrigation fluid, an irrigation line extending from the irrigation reservoir to the distal end of phacoemulsification probe, a pumping sub-system configured to pump the irrigation fluid from the irrigation reservoir to the distal end of the phacoemulsification probe via the irrigation line, and a pressure damping insert disposed in the irrigation line between the pumping sub-system and the distal end, and comprising multiple paths therethrough configured to divide a flow of the irrigation fluid entering the pressure damping insert in order to dampen pressure elevations in the irrigation fluid exiting the pumping sub-system.

A method of treating a subject having one or more eye conditions comprises applying phacoemulsification ultrasound to a subject having one or more eye conditions; and applying an excimer laser to the subject to preventatively treat glaucoma. A system for treatment of one or more eye conditions in a subject comprises a phacoemulsification ultrasound system and an excimer laser system. The phaco system comprises an ultrasound probe for treating cataracts in the subject. The excimer laser system comprises an excimer laser and a fiber probe that applies pulsed shots of energy from the excimer laser to the eye to prophylactically treat glaucoma.

A surgical system comprises a pressurized irrigation fluid source; an irrigation line fluidly coupled to the pressurized irrigation fluid source; a hand piece fluidly coupled to the irrigation line; and a controller for controlling the pressurized irrigation fluid source. The controller controls the pressurized irrigation fluid source based on an estimated flow value modified by a compensation factor.

A phacoemulsification needle is provided for emulsifying body tissue. The needle is adapted to be attached to a phacoemulsification handpiece that imparts a vibration to the needle. The needle has a hollow body with an operative distal end, a proximal end for being attached to a handpiece, and an internal surface defining an aspiration passage extending between the proximal and distal ends. In one form, the needle body includes a tip at the distal end and the needle body, the tip including one or more lateral apertures for enhanced posterior capsule safety. In another form, the needle body includes a tip including at least a pair of offset internal concave surfaces for enhanced efficiency.