Aerosol mitigation collar for ophthalmic procedures
AssigneeAlcon Inc.
InventorPaul R. Hallen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An ophthalmic surgical instrument system includes an ophthalmic instrument that includes a shaft and a lumen extending through the shaft. A sleeve that has a tubular body portion that receives and surrounds the ophthalmic instrument. An annulus is defined between the ophthalmic instrument and the sleeve. An aerosol mitigation collar extends from the sleeve. The aerosol mitigation collar includes a tubular section and a skirt extending outwardly and distally from the tubular section.
Claims20
An ophthalmic surgical instrument system, comprising:
- an ophthalmic instrument having a shaft and a lumen extending through the shaft;
- a sleeve having a tubular body portion that receives and surrounds the ophthalmic instrument;
- an annulus defined between the ophthalmic instrument and the sleeve;
- and
- an aerosol mitigation collar extending from the sleeve, the aerosol mitigation collar comprising a tubular section and a skirt extending outwardly and distally from the tubular section.
An aerosol mitigation collar, comprising:
- a tubular section that receives a portion of a sleeve;
- a skirt extending outwardly and distally from the tubular section;
- a contact surface disposed at a distal end of the skirt;
- and
- a plurality of pleats formed in the skirt, the plurality of pleats facilitating compression and expansion of the aerosol mitigation collar.
A method of containing aerosol fluids during ophthalmic procedures, the method comprising:
- coupling an aerosol mitigation collar to a sleeve;
- contacting a contact surface of the aerosol mitigation collar with an exterior surface of an eye during an ophthalmic procedure;
- blocking, via the aerosol mitigation collar, release of aerosol fluids from the eye;
- and
- adjusting a depth of the sleeve within the eye while maintaining contact between the contact surface and the eye.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.