An innovative method is proposed for intraocular cavity illumination during eye surgery. The method integrates a fiber optic ring illuminator with the corneal contract lens which is currently used to flatten the field-of-view inside the eye during most intraocular procedures. The optical fiber will be in the shape of a ring, such that light will enter the ocular cavity through the periphery of the pharmacologically dilated pupil. The illuminator will uniformly light a large, field, free from shadows even when instruments are directly in the field. In the proposed Phase I project, two ring illumination techniques will be characterized and an integrated illuminator/lens will be constructed. The proposed fiber optic illumination technique has three major advantages over the accepted intrusive fiber optic light pipe illumination systems: it completely frees one of the surgeon's hands, allowing use of other instruments or manipulations such as scleral depression for peripheral illumination; it illuminates a large percentage of the intraocular cavity; and it requires no incision. Because of its convenience and superior performance, the proposed new illumination system is expected to achieve rapid commercial acceptance while simultaneously improving surgical success rates.
Products based on the proposed new illumination method will find wide application in eye surgery, since virtually any intraocular procedure could benefit from improved illumination. POC's close cooperation with a practicing eye surgeon throughout the project will ensure that the new illumination system can be integrated into instruments that are both practical and useful to the ophthalmological community.
