Title of Invention

AN OCULAR IMPLANT FOR CORRECTING PRESBYOPIA IN PHAKIC EYES

Abstract

ABSTRACT Implant for the correction of presbyopia in phakic eyes. Ocular implant of the type comprising an optical portion to which there is connected a haptic portion arranged to position the focal axis of the said optical portion off-centre with respect to the geometric axis of the eye, towards the nasal side, provided for insertion into a phakic eye to correct presbyopia, its optical portion having, at least in its central region (7), a multifocal treatment constituting an addition of from + 1 to + 3.5 dioptres, and its haptic portion (6) ensuring that the focal axis (9) of the optical portion (5) is arranged from 0 to 0.75 mm off-centre when the implant is in position in the eye. Figure 1.

Full Text

The present invention relates to an ocular implant for the correction of presbyopia in a phakic eye. The said defect is a loss of accommodation affecting the entire population, starting from the age of about forty. It is manifested in a reduction in the acuity of near vision and is generally corrected by wearing positive convergent glasses that allow images that formerly formed behind the retina to be focussed on the retina. Emmetropic individuals often feel, however, that having to wear spectacles of that type on a permanent basis is a nuisance and unsightly. In order to avoid those disadvantages, it is known for the presbyopia to be treated surgically by carrying out remodelling of the cornea with the aid of a laser beam apparatus known by the commercial designation Excimer. The remodelling can be performed on the surface or lower down within the corneal stroma, a technique known by the name of Lasik. However, with living tissue, the scarring of which is unpredictable, it is difficult to produce very accurate curvatures in very small areas. The results of these techniques are the subject of much debate. More recently, another means of surgically treating presbyopia has been proposed, by implanting on the sclera, in line with the ciliary body, segments that have the function of retensioning the zonule. It is also known for aphakic eyes to be fitted with posterior chamber implants which are placed either within the capsular sac or in the sulcus and the optical portion of which is termed multifocal because it is treated to allow near vision and vision that is intermediate ; between nea' vision (30 cm) and distance vision (from 3 m). US 4 955 9CZ furthermore discloses an ocular implant provided for correcting substantial myopia in ar eye raving an off-centre pupil. The implant is positioned in the anterior chamber of :~e eye; it comprises an optical portion having a concave face and a thick external periphery matched to the correction of the myopia and a dissymmetrical haptic Accordingly, the present invention provides an ocular implant for the correction of presbyopia in a phakic eye comprising an optical portion to which is connected a haptic portion arranged to position the focal axis of the optical portion off-centre with respect to the geometric axis of the eye, towards the nasal side, wherein its optical portion having, at least in its central region (7), a multifocal correction constituting a uniform or progressive addition of from +1 to +3.5 dioptres, its haptic portion (6) consisting of handles 6(a) and 6(b), wherein the length (b) of handle 6(b), which corresponds to the nasal side of the eye, is less than the length (a) of the handle 6(a) opposite. For a better understanding of the invention, two embodiments of the invention shall be described hereinbelow, with reference to the attached drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a sectional view, in diagrammatic form, of an implant according to the invention inserted in the anterior chamber of the eye; Figure 2 is a plan view of the implant of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view, in diagrammatic form, of an implant according to the invention inserted in the posterior chamber of the eye; Figure 4 is a plan view of the implant of Figure 3. Figure 1 is a diagrammatic partial section of the front portion of the right eye, line 10 denoting the nasal side. In the diagram, 1 is the lens of the eye, 2 the cornea, 3 the iris and 4 the sclera. Line 8 represents the geometric axis of the eye; the broken line 9 represents the optical axis, which is determined by the centre of the pupillary orifice and which is arranged off-centre with respect to the axis 8, towards the nasal side. The arrows N and T denote the nasal and temporal sides of the eye. Located in the anterior chamber, and lodged in the angle of the iris and the cornea by means of its handles 6a and 6b, is an implant according to the invention. Its optical portion is composed of a disc 5 of optical material (PMMA, silicone, acrylic material, etc.) of zero focal power, which in this example has, in section, a slight concavity to the rear, matching that of the iris 3. In its central region, the disc 5 has a multifocal corrective region 7, the power of which is calculated to add a correction of from + 1 to + 3.5 dioptres depending upon the addition necessary to offset the presbyopia. The multifocal corrective lens can be constructed in a manner known per se by modifying the central radius of curvature in a very small region of from 2 to 3 mm in diameter which can be connected to the disc 5 by any means. The radius of curvature of this lens 7 can be uniform or can have progressions to provide a central area that is te-med progressive. This lens 7 can a!sc be constructed by means of a succession of concentric modifications of the radius of cur. ature, alternating distance afocal regions and near focal regions, it being possible for ;-.e distance vision to be placed at the centre of or at the periphery of the optical axis c" the lens. The lens 7 can also be constructed in the manner of a Fresnel lens, having at'oca "'aces and faces overccrrected by from + 1 to + 3.5 diootres. Connected t: tr.e periphery of the disc 5, which constitutes the optical portion of the implant, are t-e randies 6a and 6b which constitute its haptic portic~ Figure 2 shows that the length b of handle 6b, which corresponds to the nasal side of the eye. is less than the length a of the handle 6a opposite. The difference in distance between a and b is adjusted to correspond to the value of the off-centring between the geometric axis and the optical axis of the eye that is to be corrected. As a result, when the implant is in position in the eye, the multifocal region will be correctly centred over the optical axis 9. On average, the value of the off-centring of the optical axis with respect to the geometric axis of the eye is 0.5 mm, although that value is liable to vary from 0 to 0.75 mm from one individual to another. It is therefore possible for the centring of the multifocal portion to be modified in dependence upon the morphology of each eye. Consequently, the invention encompasses implants whose haptics are arranged to have, when in positon in the eye, a difference in length that is between those two values (from 0 to 0.75 mm). Figures 3 and 4 show an implant according to the invention provided for insertion into the posterior chamber. The reference symbols remain the same as those in Figures 1 and 2 for identical parts. It can be seen that, in contrast to the previous example, the haptic porticn of the implant is constructed, not from two diametrically opposite handles, but from a sheet of substantially rectangular shape 11 integral with the optical portion 5, which divides the said sheet 11 into an outer portion 11a and a nasal portion 11b. The distance b separating the edge of the nasal portion from the edge of the optical portion 5 is less than the distance a which separates the cute' portion from the corresponding edge c: the optica1 ccrtion 5. As before, the value of t~at difference in distance is from 0 to 0.75 mm. The implants according to the invention can have haptic portions in a g-eat variety of shapes (C-shaped handles. J-shaped handles, Z-shaped handles. r:-gs etc.) provided that the off-centrrc condition is respected. The invention is also applicable to implants which simultaneously combine a central multifocal region for the treatment of near vision and intermediate vision and a peripheral region suitable for the treatment of myopia, astigmatism and/or hypermetropia. By way of example, for an implant having an overall diameter, including the haptic portion, of the order of from 12 to 14 mm, the optical portion will have a diameter of the order of from 5 to 6 mm and the central zone of that optical portion will generally have a diameter of from 2 to 4 mm. However, it is possible, without departing from the scope of the invention, to have an implant for an emmetropic eye, wherein the entire surface of the optical portion is multifocal. WE CLAIM: 1. An ocular implant for the correction of presbyopia in a phakic eye comprising an optical portion to which is connected a haptic portion arranged to position the focal axis of the optical portion off-centre with respect to the geometric axis of the eye, towards the nasal side, wherein its optical portion having, at least in its central region (7), a multifocal correction constituting a uniform or progressive addition of from +1 to +3.5 dioptres, its haptic portion (6) consisting of handles 6(a) and 6(b), wherein the length (b) of handle 6(b), which corresponds to the nasal side of the eye, is less than the length (a) of the handle 6(a) opposite. 2. An ocular implant for the correction of presbyopia in a phakic eye comprising an optical portion to which is connected a haptic portion arranged to position the focal axis of the optical portion off-centre with respect to the geometric axis of the eye, towards the nasal side, wherein its optical portion having, at least in its central region (7), a multifocal correction constituting a uniform or progressive addition of from +1 to +3.5 dioptres, said haptic portion (11) being a sheet (11) of substantially rectangular shape integral with the optical portion (5), which divides the sheet (11) into an outer portion (1 la) and a nasal portion (lib) wherein the distance (b) separating the edge of the nasal portion from the edge of the optical portion is less than the distance (a) which separates the outer portion from the corresponding edge of the optical portion. 3. The implant as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the optical portion (5) comprises a multifocal central region (7) and an afocal peripheral region. 4. The implant as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein its overall diameter is from 12 to 14 mm, that of its optical portion is from 5 to 6 mm and that of its multifocal central region is from 2 to 4 mm. 5. An ocular implant for the correction of presbyopia in a phakic eye substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings..

Documents:

in-pct-2001-1362-che abstract-duplicate.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che abstract.jpg

in-pct-2001-1362-che abstract.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che claims-duplicate.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che claims.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che correspondence-others.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che correspondence-po.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che description (complete)-duplicate.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che description (complete).pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che drawings-duplicate.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che drawings.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che form-19.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che form-26.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che form-3.pdf

in-pct-2001-1362-che form-5.pdf