Apparatus to Modify Accommodating Intraocular Lens

Abstract

An apparatus and a method to adjust mechanical properties of an intraocular lens including at least two haptics and at least one optical element, with the apparatus including at least one laser light source adapted to provide inscription of a pattern in the lens and a digital control unit adapted to control the laser light.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising a digital control unit connected to at least one laser light source with the apparatus adapted to inscribe a pattern in any component of an intraocular lens, wherein the apparatus is adapted to provide inscription adapted to adjust mechanical properties of at least one component of the lens.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one component of the lens is at least one haptic of the lens.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one component of the lens is at least one optical component of the lens.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is adapted to adjust the properties of an intraocular lens in any position outside the eye.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is adapted to adjust the properties of an intraocular lens inside the eye.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the laser light source is a femto-second laser light source.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is adapted to cause local ablation, local swelling, local inscription, or local cutting.

8. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the apparatus further comprises a diagnostic unit which is adapted to provide real-time input to the digital control unit.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the diagnostic unit comprises a light source and a detector which measures the optical properties of the lens.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the diagnostic unit further comprises a mirror located in the optical path between the light source, the detector respectively and the lens, and that the mirror is located in the optical path between the laser light source and the lens.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the mirror is a beam splitting mirror.

12. A method to adjust mechanical properties of a haptic of an intraocular lens, comprising providing an inscription pattern in the lens by a laser beam under control of a digital control unit which pattern is adapted to adjust mechanical properties of at least one component of the lens.

13. The method according to claim 12, further comprising providing the inscription pattern to at least one haptic component of the lens.

14. The method according to claim 12, further comprising providing the inscription pattern to at least one optical component of the lens.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 depicts a schematic view of the apparatus;

[0014] FIG. 2 shows a diagram of an intraocular lens, both in a plan view and in a side view; and

[0015] FIG. 3, a perspective view of the intraocular lens depicted in FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] FIG. 1 shows an apparatus according to the invention with a human eye 1, the cornea 2, and retina 3, and the intraocular lens 4, with the elastic wings of the haptics 5, and a diagnostic unit, for example, any OCT apparatus 6, with an outgoing illumination light ray 7, generated by a light source and an incoming reflected light ray 8 for diagnosis 8, with the signal from the diagnostic unit 6 transferred to a digital control unit 10 via a connection 9. The control unit 10 converts the incoming signal via connection 9 into a driving signal for the femto-second laser unit 12, via connection 11, which laser unit 12 generates laser pulses 13, onto or into, the haptic wing to adjust the shape or the elastic properties or a combination thereof. It is also possible that the optical elements themselves are treated by the laser. A beam splitter or semi transparent mirror 14, is added to allow the laser unit to operate simultaneously with the diagnostic unit 10.

[0017] FIG. 2 depicts an intraocular lens 15, as disclosed in WO2005084587 and in S2015342728, with four haptic wings 16, which wings can be treated by laser to provide desired adjustments.

[0018] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the lens depicted in FIG. 2. The laser can provide local ablation, local cutting or a combination of ablation, swelling and/or cutting of the hydrophilic material. The first embodiment of the apparatus comprises at least one laser which is driven by signals from at least one a digital control unit which, based on imaging input from a diagnostic unit, for example input from an Optical Coherence Tomograph (OCT) which can be 3D-spectral domain OCT, or, time domain OCT, or, a combination of 3D-spectral domain OCT and time domain OCT.

[0019] The digital control unit provides the laser with a inscription pattern to be inscribed inside or on the surface of any component of the lens. The apparatus can, in a second embodiment, also adjust at least one optical aberration of the optical sections of the lens which aberration can be pre-existing or which aberration is due to said mechanical adjustment.

[0020] So, this document discloses an apparatus with a digital control unit which is connected to at least one laser light source with the apparatus adapted to inscribe a pattern in any component of an intraocular lens with the apparatus providing inscription to adjust mechanical properties of at least one component of the lens, which component can be at least one haptic of the lens, or, alternatively, at least one optical component of the lens, which can be a shape changing optical component, with the apparatus adapted to either providing adjustment of the lens in any position outside the eye, or, alternatively, providing adjustment of the lens in any position outside the eye, with the apparatus comprising any laser light source, preferably a femto-second laser light source, with the apparatus providing inscription in the form of local ablation, or, local swelling, or, local inscription, or local cutting and with the apparatus comprising at least one diagnostic unit which is adapted to provide real-time input to the digital control unit, which diagnostic unit can comprise a light source and a detector which measures the optical properties of the lens which unit can comprise a mirror located in the optical path between the light source, the detector respectively and the lens, with the mirror, which can be a beam splitting mirror, located in the optical path between the laser light source and the lens, with the apparatus adapted to function according to a method to adjust mechanical properties of a haptic of an intraocular lens by providing an inscription pattern in the lens by a laser beam under control of a digital control unit which pattern is adapted to adjust mechanical properties of at least one component of the lens which component can be at least one haptic component of the lens, or, alternatively, at least one optical component of the lens, or, alternatively, a combination of any components.