Method and apparatus for adhering a capsular bag to an intraocular lens

#This present disclosure relates generally ophthalmic lenses and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for adhering a capsular bag to an intraocular lens.

#Intraocular lenses (IOLs) may be implanted in patients' eyes to replace a patient's natural lens. An IOL typically includes (1) an optic that corrects the patient's vision (e.g., typically via refraction or diffraction), and (2) haptics that constitute support structures that hold the optic in place within the patient's eye (e.g., within capsular bag). In general, a physician selects an IOL for which the optic has the appropriate corrective characteristics for the patient. During ophthalmic surgery, often performed for conditions such as cataracts, the surgeon implants selected IOL by making an incision in the capsular bag of the patient's eye (a capsulorhexis) and inserting the IOL through the incision. Typically, the IOL is folded for insertion into the capsular bag via a corneal incision and unfolded once in place within the capsular bag. During unfolding, the haptics may expand such that a small section of each bears on the capsular bag, retaining the IOL in place.

#Although existing IOLs may function acceptably well in many patients, they also have certain shortcomings. For example, existing IOL designs may result in posterior capsule opacification (PCO), a condition in which residual lens epithelial cells from the equator of the capsular bag migrating inward along the posterior side of the capsular bag towards the optic. Because the cell growth may opacify the posterior surface of the capsular bag, PCO may negatively impact the patient's vision. Certain current IOL design attempt to address PCO by adding a sharp edge around the posterior surface of the optic. Although such sharp edges may inhibit the migration of lens epithelial cells, they generally do not completely eliminate PCO. Once PCO has occurred, it may be addressed via a laser procedure called a posterior capsulotomy in which the opacification is removed by creating an opening in the posterior surface of the capsule. The added cost, time, and risk to the patient associated with a posterior capsulotomy may make the procedure undesirable.

#For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals indicate like features and wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a flow chart depicting an exemplary embodiment of a method for performing an ophthalmic procedure that adheres a capsular bag to an IOL;

#FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of an apparatus for adhering a capsular bag to the IOL;

#The skilled person in the art will understand that the drawings, described below, are for illustration purposes only. The drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the applicant's disclosure in any way.

#The exemplary embodiments relate to mechanisms for sealing a portion of the capsular bag to a portion of the intraocular lens (IOL). The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. Various modifications to the exemplary embodiments and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent. The exemplary embodiments are mainly described in terms of particular methods and systems provided in particular implementations. However, the methods and systems will operate effectively in other implementations. Phrases such as “exemplary embodiment”, “one embodiment” and “another embodiment” may refer to the same or different embodiments as well as to multiple embodiments. The embodiments will be described with respect to systems and/or devices having certain components. However, the systems and/or devices may include more or less components than those shown, and variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Further, although specific blocks are depicted, various functions of the blocks may be separated into different blocks or combined. The exemplary embodiments will also be described in the context of particular methods having certain steps. However, the method and system operate effectively for other methods having different and/or additional steps and steps in different orders that are not inconsistent with the exemplary embodiments. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein.

#The method and system are also described in terms of singular items rather than plural items. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that these singular terms encompass plural. For example, a step that is described as melting a portion of the capsular bag may melt multiple contiguous or noncontiguous sections of the capsular bag. In certain embodiments, the system includes one or more processors and a memory. The one or more processors may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory to cause and control the process set forth in the drawings and described below. As used herein, a processor may include one or more microprocessors, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), controllers, or any other suitable computing devices or resources, and memory may take the form of volatile or non-volatile memory including, without limitation, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), removable media, or any other suitable memory component. Memory may store instructions for programs and algorithms that, when executed by a processor, implement the functionality described herein with respect to any such processor, memory, or component that includes processing functionality. Further, aspects of the method and system may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Aspects of the method and system may take the form of a software component(s) executed on at least one processor and which may be embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.