Back to results
US 11,633,275 B2Granted
IOL injector plunger having IOL compression arms
AssigneeAlcon Inc.
InventorRudolph F. Zacher
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An IOL injector plunger having IOL compression arms is described.
Claims11
An intraocular lens (IOL) injector plunger comprising:
- a plunger tip formed at a distal end of the plunger and adapted to contact an IOL and axially move the IOL in response to an axial force applied to the plunger;
- and
- a first and a second flexible IOL compression arm disposed on opposite lateral sides of the distal end of the plunger, each flexible IOL compression arm having a proximal end coupled to the plunger, and a tapered distal end forming a compression arm tip, wherein:
- the plunger is movably coupled within an injector body of an IOL injector, the injector body comprising a tapered delivery channel;
- in an initial compression arm configuration, the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are laterally splayed such that the compression arm tip of the first flexible IOL compression arm is adapted to contact a first end of a proximal haptic of an uncompressed IOL, the first end comprising a haptic tip of the proximal haptic, and a the compression arm tip of the second flexible IOL compression arm is adapted to contact a second end of a proximal haptic of an uncompressed IOL;
- in response to inward lateral forces applied to outer lateral surfaces of the first and second flexible IOL compression arms, the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are adapted to flex toward one another to adopt a second compression arm configuration wherein the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are adapted to apply an inward lateral force onto the IOL, and thereby guide the IOL to adopt a compressed configuration;
- and
- the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are configured to be decoupled from the plunger in response to the first and second flexible IOL compression arms adopting the second compression arm configuration, such that in response to decoupling, upon axial movement of the plunger:
- the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are adapted not to move axially within the delivery channel;
- and
- the plunger tip is adapted to axially push a compressed IOL through the delivery channel.
8 more elements
An intraocular lens (IOL) injector plunger comprising:
- a plunger tip formed at a distal end of the plunger and adapted to contact an IOL and axially move the IOL in response to an axial force applied to the plunger;
- and
- a first and a second flexible IOL compression arm disposed on opposite lateral sides of the distal end of the plunger, each flexible IOL compression arm having a proximal end coupled to the plunger, and a tapered distal end forming a compression arm tip, wherein:
- the plunger is movably coupled within an injector body of an IOL injector, the injector body comprising a nozzle and a tapered delivery channel, the nozzle comprising channels disposed longitudinally within the nozzle and adapted to receive the first and a second flexible IOL compression arms;
- in an initial compression arm configuration, the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are laterally splayed such that the compression arm tip of the first flexible IOL compression arm is adapted to contact a first end of a proximal haptic of an uncompressed IOL, the first end comprising a haptic tip of the proximal haptic, and the compression arm tip of the second flexible IOL compression arm is adapted to contact a second end of a proximal haptic of an uncompressed IOL;
- in response to inward lateral forces applied to outer lateral surfaces of the first and second flexible IOL compression arms, the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are adapted to flex toward one another to adopt a second compression arm configuration wherein the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are adapted to apply an inward lateral force onto the IOL, and thereby guide the IOL to adopt a compressed configuration;
- and
- in response to axial movement of the plunger following compression of the IOL:
- a portion of each of the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are configured to be decoupled from the plunger such that the plunger tip is adapted to axially move through the delivery channel;
- and
- the first and second flexible IOL compression arms are adapted to axially slide through the channels of the nozzle.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.