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Ocular implant architectures

Ocular implant architectures description/claims

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/860,318, filed Sep. 24, 2007, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/033,746, filed Mar. 4, 2008, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

The present invention relates generally to devices that are implanted within the eye. More particularly, the present invention relates to devices that facilitate the transfer of fluid from within one area of the eye to another area of the eye.

According to a draft report by The National Eye Institute (NEI) at The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), glaucoma is now the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide and the second leading cause of blindness, behind cataract, in the world. Thus, the NEI draft report concludes, “it is critical that significant emphasis and resources continue to be devoted to determining the pathophysiology and management of this disease.” Glaucoma researchers have found a strong correlation between high intraocular pressure and glaucoma. For this reason, eye care professionals routinely screen patients for glaucoma by measuring intraocular pressure using a device known as a tonometer. Many modern tonometers make this measurement by blowing a sudden puff of air against the outer surface of the eye.

The eye can be conceptualized as a ball filled with fluid. There are two types of fluid inside the eye. The cavity behind the lens is filled with a viscous fluid known as vitreous humor. The cavities in front of the lens are filled with a fluid know as aqueous humor. Whenever a person views an object, he or she is viewing that object through both the vitreous humor and the aqueous humor.

Whenever a person views an object, he or she is also viewing that object through the cornea and the lens of the eye. In order to be transparent, the cornea and the lens can include no blood vessels. Accordingly, no blood flows through the cornea and the lens to provide nutrition to these tissues and to remove wastes from these tissues. Instead, these functions are performed by the aqueous humor. A continuous flow of aqueous humor through the eye provides nutrition to portions of the eye (e.g., the cornea and the lens) that have no blood vessels. This flow of aqueous humor also removes waste from these tissues.

Aqueous humor is produced by an organ known as the ciliary body. The ciliary body includes epithelial cells that continuously secrete aqueous humor. In a healthy eye, a stream of aqueous humor flows out of the anterior chamber of the eye through the trabecular meshwork and into Schlemm's canal as new aqueous humor is secreted by the epithelial cells of the ciliary body. This excess aqueous humor enters the venous blood stream from Schlemm's canal and is carried along with the venous blood leaving the eye.

When the natural drainage mechanisms of the eye stop functioning properly, the pressure inside the eye begins to rise. Researchers have theorized prolonged exposure to high intraocular pressure causes damage to the optic nerve that transmits sensory information from the eye to the brain. This damage to the optic nerve results in loss of peripheral vision. As glaucoma progresses, more and more of the visual field is lost until the patient is completely blind.

In addition to drug treatments, a variety of surgical treatments for glaucoma have been performed. For example, shunts were implanted to direct aqueous humor from the anterior chamber to the extraocular vein (Lee and Scheppens, “Aqueous-venous shunt and intraocular pressure,” Investigative Opthalmology (February 1966)). Other early glaucoma treatment implants led from the anterior chamber to a sub-conjunctival bleb (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,296 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,362). Still others were shunts leading from the anterior chamber to a point just inside Schlemm's canal (Spiegel et al., “Schlemm's canal implant: a new method to lower intraocular pressure in patients with POAG?” Ophthalmic Surgery and Lasers (June 1999); U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,984; U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,984).

One aspect of the invention provides an ocular implant having a first spine; a second spine; a first strut extending in an axial direction Z between the first spine and the second spine; a second strut extending in an axial direction Z between the first spine and the second spine; wherein an angular dimension θ of a first edge of each strut undulates as the strut extends in the axial direction Z between the first spine and the second spine; and wherein a radius r of an outer surface of each strut remains substantially constant as the strut extends the axial direction Z between the first spine and the second spine.

Yet another aspect of the invention provides an ocular implant having a first spine section; a second spine section; and a first frame extending between the first spine section and the second spine section, the frame having a diameter of between 0.005 inches and 0.04 inches, the ocular implant being adapted to be disposed within a canal of Schlemm in a human eye.

In some embodiments, the first spine section, the second spine section, and the first frame form portions of a single tubular wall. Each spine section may optionally have only a single spine. In some embodiments, each spine section has an arcuate shape in lateral cross section. In some embodiments, the first spine has a first circumferential extent and the first frame has a second circumferential extent, wherein the second circumferential extent is greater than the first circumferential extent.

In some embodiments, the first frame has a first strut and a second strut and may have only two struts. Each strut may optionally have an arcuate shape in lateral cross section.

In embodiments in which the first strut has a first edge (partially defining, e.g., a first opening in the ocular implant), an angular dimension θ of the first edge may undulate as the strut extends in an axial direction Z between the first spine and the second spine. An angular dimension θ of the first edge may also first increase, then decrease, as the strut extends in an axial direction Z between the first spine and the second spine. Also, a radius r of the first edge may remain substantially constant as the strut extends in axial dimension Z between the first spine and the second spine.

In some embodiments, the first strut has a thickness that is substantially constant in a radial direction. In some embodiments, the first strut has a width extending in an arc along a circumferential direction. In some embodiments, the first strut has a length extending in an axial direction that is generally parallel to a longitudinal axis of the ocular implant.

The first spine section and the second spine section may be axially aligned with one another. A shape of the second strut may also be a mirror image of a shape of the first strut.

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