Imaging-guided needle placement for corneal dissections
JHU Ref #: C17577
Value Proposition
· Autonomous or supervised autonomous needle placement.
· Imaging-guided feedback control.
· Eye-mounted device.
· Improve corneal transplant success rate.
Technology Description
· Researchers at Johns Hopkins have developed a surgical tool and technique to improve partial tissue dissections for eye surgeries. By using imaging-guided feedback control, an eye-mounted device is able to autonomously position a surgical cannula at specific tissue layers in the eye. This accurate positioning enables accurate separation of specific layers without unwanted perforations.
Unmet Need
· Corneal defects/injuries are a major cause of reversible blindness, and they can often be fixed with a corneal transplant. (see Singh, 2019). Deep anterior lamellar keratoplasty (DALK) is a cornea transplant method used when patient endothelium is healthy. DALK separates patient stroma while maintaining endothelium in order to reduce immune rejection of donor tissue. The most common method for separating stroma from endothelium is the big bubble method (see Anwar, 2002). However, this method suffers from the difficulty of accurately placing a cannula at the barrier between stroma and endothelium (see Italics, 2015). Therefore, there is a need for development of technologies for better placement of cannula during DALK and other partial tissue dissection procedures.
Stage of Development
· Proof-of-concept completed. Preclinical testing beginning 2023.
Publication
N/A
