Aquesys, Inc.

Novartis Ag

Alcon Research, Ltd.

Laszlo Otto Romoda

Christopher Horvath

Guenther Grabner

Herbert A Reitsamer

Brian Scott Hamstrom

Ronald D Bache

Richard A Lewis

Partha Chandrakant

Vanessa Isabella Vera

Iqbal K Ahmed

Wesley Anne Jung

Cory Anderson

John R Samples

Ronald T Smith

Michael James Papac

Michael John Yadlowsky

Michael Robinson

An inserter for treating glaucoma can comprise a housing, a needle, a plunger, a slider component, and a drive component. The drive component is disposed within a cavity of the housing and rotatable within the cavity to result in movement along a longitudinal axis of the inserter to the needle and the plunger upon rotation of the drive component. The slider component is coupled to the housing and slidable along an elongate groove of the drive component such that movement of the slider component along the axis rotates the drive component within the housing.

Intraocular shunt insertion techniques

An intraocular shunt can be placed into the eye in an ab externo approach. A clinician may determine an entry area below a corneal limbus of an eye and a target outflow region. Thereafter, the clinician can insert a hollow shaft into the eye at the entry area toward an anterior chamber of the eye, the shaft carrying an intraocular shunt therein. The clinician can position an inflow end of the shunt within the anterior chamber of the eye and, while maintaining the shunt inflow end in the anterior chamber, can remove the shaft from the eye to release the shunt. Finally, the clinician can repositioning an outflow end of the shunt within the target outflow region and verify placement of the outflow end of the shunt within the target outflow region.

Ab externo intraocular shunt placement

Glaucoma can be treated by implanting an intraocular shunt in the eye. The implantation can be performed by first determining an entry area below a corneal limbus of an eye. Thereafter, the intraocular shunt can be inserted into eye tissue through the entry area such that an inflow end of the shunt is positioned in the anterior chamber of the eye and an outflow end of the shunt is positioned between layers of Tenon's capsule.

Intraocular shunt implantation

An implanted intraocular shunt can be manually manipulated, without surgical intervention, to modify the flow resistance of the shunt, thereby providing relief from high intraocular pressure while avoiding hypotony. For example, through application of pressure along a surface of the eye, a portion of the shunt can be displaced or separated relative to the shunt, thereby decreasing a flow resistance of the shunt.

Manually adjustable intraocular flow regulation

A system for deploying an intraocular shunt can include an intraocular shunt inserter and a deflector component that is releasable attachable to a distal end portion of the inserter. The inserter can include a housing having a distal end portion and a needle extending from the distal end portion. The deflector component can have a needle guide configured to receive the needle of the inserter therein. The deflector component can be coupled to the inserter in order to permit the needle guide to bend the needle and maintain the needle in a bended configuration.

Intraocular shunt inserter

An inserter can include a housing and a slider component. The housing can include a distal portion, a proximal portion, a longitudinal axis extending between the distal and proximal portions, an interior cavity, and an elongate slot extending along an outer surface of the housing into the cavity. The slider component can be coupled to the housing and positioned along the outer surface thereof. The slider component can be slidable along the elongate slot. The slider includes a guide tab disposed within the guide channel of the housing body. The slider further includes a friction tab having a biasing member configured to urge against the housing body to urge the guide tab against the channel wall of the guide channel.

Methods are provided for using an intraocular shunt deployment device to deploy an intraocular shunt from the device and into an eye.

Intraocular shunt placement

Glaucoma can be treated by implanting an intraocular shunt into the eye. Such procedures can employ various deployment devices, shunts, and implantation techniques. A method for treating glaucoma can include positioning an intraocular shunt in eye tissue such that the shunt conducts fluid from the anterior chamber to the suprachoroidal space and delivers a pharmaceutical or biological agent to the eye.

Intraocular shunt placement in the suprachoroidal space

An ab externo method of placing an intraocular implant into an eye can include advancing a needle, in which the implant is disposed, into the eye through conjunctiva and sclera of the eye. The implant can include a drug deliverable to the eye. The implant can thereafter be released to be anchored in the eye and elute the drug to the eye.

Intraocular drug delivery

Placing an intraocular shunt ab externo into an eye can include inserting the shunt into the eye and either before and/or after insertion, ballooning a target outflow region of the eye to permit an outflow end of the shunt to be enveloped within the ballooned target outflow region. An injector docking device can optionally be used to guide insertion of the needle and shunt into the eye.

AB externo intraocular shunt placement

Implanting an intraocular shunt into an eye can involve creating an opening in the cornea and positioning a shunt in the anterior chamber of the eye such that the shunt terminates between layers of Tenon's capsule, thereby facilitating fluid flow out of the anterior chamber into a space between the layers of Tenon's capsule.

An intraocular shunt can be manufactured using a system that includes a liquid bath and a wire, which is moved through the bath. The wire can be moved through a first liquid bath to produce a first tubular layer of drug-infused gelatin. Further, the wire can be moved through a second liquid bath to produce a second tubular layer of drug-free gelatin. The first and second tubular layers can be dried on the wire in a humidity-controlled space, thereby manufacturing a drug-loaded gelatin shunt.

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San Clemente, CA, United States of America

Laszlo Otto Romoda