Method of controlling IOL passage through a cartridge

摘要

A rear-loaded injector cartridge for an intraocular lens (IOL) having a proximal opening that provides a haptic slot. The haptic slot receives a leading haptic of an IOL loaded therein, and temporarily retains the leading haptic while the optic of the IOL is inserted into a holding area of the cartridge. As the optic passes by, the leading haptic folds over the top of the optic, on its anterior side. The length of the haptic retention slot is sufficient to maintain the leading haptic in its anteriorly folded position while the IOL remains in holding area, typically while the cartridge is mated with a handpiece of the injector. The cartridge also has a rear or proximal cut out which advantageously keys with a similarly-sized rail on the handpiece so that the cartridge cannot be inserted in the wrong way.

主权项

1. A method of controlling passage of an intraocular lens through an injector cartridge, comprising:
providing an injector cartridge having a proximal opening sized to receive an intraocular lens, the proximal opening generally defining a modified oval that has a larger horizontal width than its vertical height and has opposite lateral corners that generally exhibit symmetry about a central vertical plane, a hollow interior extending longitudinally from the proximal opening to a distal insertion tip, and a holding area within the hollow interior spaced from the proximal opening, the proximal opening being interrupted by a peripheral slot that extends from the proximal opening in a distal direction and terminates prior to reaching the holding area; providing an intraocular lens having an optic, a leading haptic, and a trailing haptic, the optic having a diameter that is smaller than the horizontal width of the proximal opening of the injector cartridge; inserting an intraocular lens into the cartridge through the proximal opening by registering the leading haptic with the peripheral slot and displacing the optic of the intraocular lens past the slot and into the holding area, wherein the leading haptic is guided by the peripheral slot and deforms so as to be located across one face of the optic; and urging the intraocular lens from the holding area through the hollow interior and out of the distal insertion tip, wherein the hollow interior is sized to maintain the leading haptic located across one face of the optic until the intraocular lens emerges from the distal insertion tip.