Glaucoma stent and methods thereof for glaucoma treatment
AssigneeGlaukos Corporation
InventorsDouglas Daniel Crimaldi, Charles Raymond Kalina, Jr.
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention relates generally to medical devices and methods for reducing the intraocular pressure in an animal eye and, more particularly, to stent type devices for permitting aqueous outflow from the eye's anterior chamber and associated methods thereof for the treatment of glaucoma. Some aspects provide a self-trephining glaucoma stent and methods thereof which advantageously allow for a “one-step” procedure in which the incision and placement of the stent are accomplished by a single device and operation. This desirably allows for a faster, safer, and less expensive surgical procedure.
Claims19
A system for treating an ocular disorder in a patient, the system comprising:
- a delivery device, said delivery device comprising a handpiece and an elongate delivery member;
- and
- at least one ocular implant comprising:
- a head portion comprising an opening;
- a base portion, the base portion comprising at least one opening and a tapered portion;
- a waist portion attached to the head portion at a first end and to the base portion at a second end, the waist portion having an external cross-sectional dimension less than that of both an external cross-sectional dimension of a largest part of the base portion and an external cross-sectional dimension of a largest part of the head portion;
- and
- a lumen at least partially passing through the head portion, base portion, and the waist portion, the lumen in communication with the at least one opening,
- wherein the external cross-sectional dimension of the largest part of the head portion is greater than the external cross-sectional dimension of the largest part of the base portion.
A method of treating an ocular disorder in a patient, the method comprising:
- forming an incision in an eye of the patient;
- inserting an elongate delivery member of a delivery device through the incision and advancing a distal tip of the elongate delivery member within an anterior chamber of the eye toward a desired implantation site,
- wherein the elongate delivery member comprises at least one implant,
- wherein the at least one implant comprises a tapered base portion, an intermediate waist portion, and a head,
- wherein the tapered base portion comprises at least one opening,
- wherein a minimum cross-sectional dimension of the head is greater than a maximum cross-sectional dimension of the tapered base portion;
- and
- causing the tapered base portion of the at least one implant to be delivered through trabecular meshwork and into a Schlemm's canal of the eye with the head of the at least one implant remaining in the anterior chamber, thereby facilitating flow of aqueous through the at least one implant from the anterior chamber to the Schlemm's canal.
A method of treating an ocular disorder in a patient, the method comprising:
- inserting an elongate delivery member of a delivery device through an incision in an eye and advancing a distal tip of the elongate delivery member within an anterior chamber of the eye toward a desired implantation site,
- wherein the elongate delivery member comprises at least one implant,
- wherein the at least one implant comprises a tapered base portion, an intermediate waist portion, and a head,
- wherein the tapered base portion comprises at least one opening,
- wherein a minimum cross-sectional dimension of the head is greater than a maximum cross-sectional dimension of the tapered base portion;
- and
- causing a tapered base portion of the at least one implant to be delivered through trabecular meshwork and into a Schlemm's canal of the eye with the head of the at least one implant remaining in the anterior chamber, thereby facilitating flow of aqueous through the at least one implant from the anterior chamber to the Schlemm's canal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.