Handheld ophthalmic laser system with replaceable contact tips and treatment guide

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10758118-B2
Application number	US-201715638036-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2017
Priority date	Jun 30, 2016
Publication date	Sep 1, 2020
Grant date	Sep 1, 2020

Abstract

In some embodiments, an ophthalmic laser system may be provided that does not include a traditional laser console. Instead, the treatment device may be configured to house the treatment light source within the device handle. Additionally, in some embodiments, the handheld treatment device may include a user interface, such as dials and buttons, for adjusting various parameters of the therapeutic light. With certain embodiments, the self-contained handheld treatment device may be operated independent of an AC power source. For example, in some embodiments, the handheld treatment device may be battery powered. Additionally, the handheld treatment device may be disposable or may utilize replaceable distal tips in certain embodiments. Certain embodiments may be particularly designed for transscleral cyclophotocoagulation. Also, treatment guides are provided that may be configured to couple with a treatment device to align the device with a target tissue of the eye.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A handheld glaucoma treatment device for delivering therapeutic light toward an eye of a patient, the handheld glaucoma treatment device comprising:
a treatment device housing defining a handle for grasping by a hand of a user having a proximal end and a distal end opposite the proximal end;
a therapeutic light source disposed within the treatment device housing;
optics disposed within the treatment device housing configured to direct therapeutic light generated by the therapeutic light source toward the distal end of the treatment device housing; and
a replaceable contact tip having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the replaceable contact tip configured to be detachably coupled with the distal end of the treatment device housing and the distal end of the replaceable contact tip comprising a contact surface configured to couple with a surface of the eye, the replaceable contact tip configured to receive therapeutic light generated by the therapeutic light source via the optics housed within the treatment device housing,
wherein the replaceable contact tip includes an optical element configured to map the received therapeutic light into a plurality of separate smaller spots that are configured to be directed toward the eye,
wherein the received therapeutic light has a 1-mm spot size, and the optical element is configured to map the received therapeutic light with the 1-mm spot size into a plurality of 10-μm or smaller spots, and
wherein the optical element comprises a proximal input portion for receiving the therapeutic light with the 1-mm spot size and a distal output portion for outputting the plurality of 10-μm or smaller spots, wherein the distal output end comprises elongated extensions for mapping the plurality of 10-μm or smaller spots.

2. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , further comprising a power supply disposed within the treatment device housing and configured to power the therapeutic light source, wherein the power supply comprises a battery.

3. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein a shape of the replaceable contact tip is a flat surface made from cleaving or polishing, or a curved surface made by an etching or burning process.

4. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , further comprising a flexible optical coupler for coupling the proximal end of the replaceable contact tip with the distal end of the treatment device housing, wherein the flexible optical coupler comprises a flexible optical fiber having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the flexible optical fiber coupled with a proximal connector and the distal end of the flexible optical fiber coupled with a distal connector, and wherein the proximal connector comprises an engagement feature having the same configuration as an engagement feature on a proximal end of the replaceable contact tip, and wherein the distal connector comprises an engagement feature having the same configuration as an engagement feature on a distal end of the treatment device housing.

5. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the contact surface of the distal end of the replaceable contact tip is slanted so as to control an incidence angle of the light beam on the eye of the patient.

6. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the replaceable contact tip defines an elongate axis from the proximal end to the distal end of the replaceable contact tip, wherein the therapeutic light is projected distally along the elongate axis, and wherein the contact surface of the distal end of the replaceable contact tip is at a non-perpendicular angle with respect to the elongate axis defined by the replaceable contact tip, wherein the contact surface of the distal end of the replaceable contact tip is at a 30-60 degree angle with respect to the elongate axis defined by the replaceable contact tip.

7. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the distal end of the replaceable contact tip is concave to match a curvature of a portion of the eye.

8. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the distal end of the replaceable contact tip is convex and includes rounded edges so that the contact surface of the replaceable contact tip may be swept across the surface of the eye.

9. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the replaceable contact tip comprises internal optics configured to optically couple with the optics housed within the treatment device housing, wherein the internal optics of the replaceable contact tip comprises an optical fiber having a proximal end optically coupled with the optics housed within the treatment device housing when the replaceable contact tip is coupled with the treatment device housing and a distal end that protrudes from the contact surface of the replaceable contact tip.

10. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 9 , wherein the distal end of the optical fiber protrudes from the contact surface of the replaceable contact tip by 1 mm or less.

11. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 9 , wherein the distal end of the optical fiber protrudes from the contact surface of the replaceable contact tip by 6 mm or more.

12. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the proximal end of the replaceable contact tip couples with the distal end of the treatment device housing through a threaded engagement, a snap-fit engagement, or a magnetic coupling.

13. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the replaceable contact tip is configured to map the received therapeutic light generated by the therapeutic light source into a plurality of separate smaller spots.

14. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 13 , wherein the replaceable contact tip is configured to map the received therapeutic light into 49 smaller spots.

15. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 1 , wherein the replaceable contact tip is a first replaceable contact tip and wherein the handheld glaucoma treatment device further comprises a second replaceable contact tip having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the second replaceable contact tip configured to be coupled with the distal end of the treatment device housing and the distal end of the second replaceable contact tip comprising a contact surface configured to contact the surface of the eye, and wherein the distal end of the second replaceable contact tip has a different configuration than the distal end of the first replaceable contact tip.

16. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 15 , wherein the first replaceable contact tip comprises a first computer readable optical image, wherein the second replaceable contact tip comprises a second computer readable optical image, and wherein the treatment device housing includes a scanner for detecting the first and second computer readable optical image to determine which of the first and second replaceable contact tips is coupled with the distal end of the treatment device housing, wherein parameters of the therapeutic light source are adjusted based on which of the first and second computer readable optical images is detected by the scanner.

17. The handheld glaucoma treatment device of claim 15 , wherein the first replaceable contact tip comprises a first embedded chip configured to transmit a first computer readable code, wherein the second replaceable contact tip comprises a second embedded chip configured to transmit a second computer readable code, and wherein the treatment d

Assignees

• Iridex Corp

Inventors

• Chen Howard
• Buzawa David

Classifications

• A61F9/00821 Primary

  for coagulation · CPC title

• A61F9/009

  Auxiliary devices making contact with the eyeball and coupling in laser light, {e.g. goniolenses (apparatus for eye examination A61B3/0008)} · CPC title

• A61N5/067

  using laser light · CPC title

• A61F2009/00891

  Glaucoma · CPC title

• A61F2009/00868

  Ciliary muscles or trabecular meshwork · CPC title