ABSTRACT
In case of presbyopia or cataract the "artificial accommodation system" represents one future possibility to durably restore the ability to accommodate. The work presented describes recent progress in the development of the artificial accommodation system. Major advances were achieved in the fields of the actuator system for the active optics, the pupil near reflex sensor, the communication system, the power supply system as well as in system integration. Beside the technical advances, first trials were performed to implant the artificial accommodation system into animals. These trials showed that the new lens shaped design and the C-shaped haptics are beneficial for implantation and secure fixation of the implant inside the capsular bag.
Subject(s)
Accommodation, Ocular , Lenses, Intraocular , Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems/instrumentation , Refractive Errors/therapy , Therapy, Computer-Assisted/instrumentation , Visual Prosthesis , Equipment Failure Analysis , Humans , Prosthesis DesignABSTRACT
Age-related ailments like presbyopia and cataract are increasing concerns in the aging society. Both go along with a loss of ability to accommodate. A new approach to restore the patients' ability to accommodate is the Artificial Accommodation System. This micro mechatronic system will be implanted into the capsular bag to replace the human crystalline lens. Depending on the patients' actual need for accommodation, the Artificial Accommodation System autonomously adapts the refractive power of its integrated optical element in a way that the projection on the patients' retina results in a sharp image. As the Artificial Accommodation System is an active implant, its subsystems have to be supplied with electrical energy. Evolving technologies, like energy harvesting, which can potentially be used to power an implant like the Artificial Accommodation System are at the current state of art not sufficient to power the Artificial Accommodation System autonomously [1]. In the near future, therefore an inductive power supply system will be developed which includes an energy storage to power the Artificial Accommodation System autonomously over a period of 24 h and can be recharged wirelessly. This Paper describes a new possibility to optimize the secondary coil design in a solely analytical way, based on a new figure of merit. Within this paper the developed figure of merit is applied to optimize the secondary coil design for the Artificial Accommodation System.
Subject(s)
Accommodation, Ocular , Equipment Design , Humans , Lens, Crystalline/physiopathologyABSTRACT
In this paper a new approach for restoring human accommodation is presented. It is an artificial accommodation system based on the latest results of microtechnology, electronics and automatic control. The concept of the overall system is described and the results obtained for the different subsystems are discussed.
Subject(s)
Accommodation, Ocular , Lenses, Intraocular , Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems/instrumentation , Refractive Errors/rehabilitation , Visual Prosthesis , Equipment Design , Equipment Failure Analysis , HumansABSTRACT
In order to restore the ability of accommodation of the human eye, a lens implant manufactured by micro system technology can be used. This highly integrated Artificial Accommodation System contains sensitive electronics as well as moving components in order to adapt its refractive power. One challenge of the production of this system is the encapsulation. It has to be a biocompatible and long-term reliable package. In this paper the advantages of a hermetic glass package over other approaches of encapsulation are introduced. Concepts of production for a glass package are presented. The package is thereby optimised to be placed in the optical path of the eye, but it can also be used for the encapsulation of other implants.
