Intraocular system for transmitting data and power optically to an implant

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12470674-B2
Application number	US-202318192188-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 29, 2023
Priority date	Mar 29, 2023
Publication date	Nov 11, 2025
Grant date	Nov 11, 2025

Abstract

An intraocular system that includes a headset that optically transmits data and power to an implant. The headset includes a camera to capture image data that includes a visual representation of an environment of the headset and an optical transmitter to transmit the image data as an optical signal into a cornea of an eye of a user when the user is wearing the headset. The implant includes an optical receiver to receive the optical signal through the cornea and an image formation device orientated to present the image data from the optical signal onto a retina of the eye when the implant is inside the eye.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . An intraocular system comprising:
a headset including a camera to capture image data that includes a visual representation of an environment of the headset and an optical transmitter to transmit the image data as an optical signal within a wavelength range into a cornea of an eye of a user when the user is wearing the headset; and an implant including:
an optical receiver to (1) receive the optical signal through the cornea, and (2) receive a second optical signal at a wavelength outside of the wavelength range; and
an image formation device orientated to present the image data from the optical signal onto a retina of the eye when the implant is inside the eye.

2 . The intraocular system of claim 1 , wherein the optical signal comprises modulated light that passes through the cornea of the eye and is directed towards the optical receiver while the headset is worn by the user and while the implant is inside the eye.

3 . The intraocular system of claim 1 ,
wherein the optical transmitter is a first optical transmitter, and the optical signal is a first optical signal, wherein the headset further comprises a second optical transmitter to transmit, through the cornea of the eye, the second optical signal which comprises a request to establish an over-the-air optical connection between the first optical transmitter and the optical receiver, and wherein the first optical transmitter is to transmit the image data once the over-the-air optical connection is established.

4 . The intraocular system of claim 3 , wherein the first optical transmitter comprises a low-powered laser diode, and the second optical transmitter comprises a light emitting diode (LED).

5 . The intraocular system of claim 3 ,
wherein the second optical transmitter comprises a first optical transceiver, wherein the implant further comprises a second optical transceiver to transmit an acknowledgement as a third optical signal through the cornea of the eye and directed towards the first optical transceiver responsive to the implant receiving the second optical signal, and wherein the over-the-air optical connection is established responsive to the first optical transceiver receiving the third optical signal.

6 . The intraocular system of claim 1 ,
wherein the optical transmitter is a first optical transmitter, and the optical signal is a first optical signal, wherein the headset further comprises a second optical transmitter to transmit the second optical signal through the cornea of the eye while the headset is worn by the user, and wherein the implant further comprises a photovoltaic device to produce power for the implant, responsive to receiving the second optical signal when the implant is inside the eye.

7 . The intraocular system of claim 6 , wherein the first optical transmitter comprises a low-powered laser diode, and the second optical transmitter comprises a high-powered laser diode.

8 . The intraocular system of claim 7 , wherein the high-powered laser diode comprises an infrared laser diode that is arranged to produce the second optical signal with a wavelength between 800 nm and 1,060 nm.

9 . The intraocular system of claim 6 ,
wherein the camera is a first camera, and wherein the headset further comprises:
an inward-facing camera to capture images of the eye of the user while the headset is worn by the user; and
a controller that is communicatively coupled with the inward-facing camera and the second optical transmitter, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine whether the eye of the user is open based on the images captured by the inward-facing camera,
cause the second optical transmitter to transmit the second optical signal while the eye of the user is open, and
prevent the second optical transmitter from transmitting the second optical signal while the eye of the user is closed.

10 . A method performed by an intraocular implant, the method comprising:
receiving, by a first optical receiver of the intraocular implant and while the intraocular implant is inside an eye of a user, an optical signal through a cornea of the eye and from a headset that is being worn by the user, wherein the optical signal comprises image data captured by a camera of the headset; receiving, while the intraocular implant is inside an eye of a user, a second optical signal through a cornea of the eye and from a headset that is being worn by the user, wherein the second optical signal comprises a request to establish an over-the-air optical connection between the first optical receiver and a first optical transmitter of the headset; and presenting, by an image formation device of the intraocular implant, the image data onto a retina of the eye.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the method further comprises establishing the over-the-air optical connection using a second optical receiver of the intraocular implant, wherein the optical signal is received once the over-the-air optical connection is established.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the optical signal is a first optical signal, wherein establishing the over-the-air optical connection comprises:
receiving, by the second optical receiver, the second optical signal through; and transmitting, by a second optical transmitter of the intraocular implant, a third optical signal through the cornea of the eye that comprises an approval.

13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the optical signal is a first optical signal, wherein the method further comprises converting, by a photovoltaic (PV) device of the intraocular implant, a second third optical signal that is being transmitted by the headset into power for the intraocular implant.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the PV device is a first PV device, wherein the method further comprises:
determining a first power output level of the first PV device; converting, by a second PV device of the intraocular implant, a fifth optical signal that is being transmitted by the headset into power for the intraocular implant; determining a second power output level of a second PV device; and responsive to determining that the first power output level is less than the second power output level, transmitting, by an optical transmitter of the intraocular implant, a fourth optical signal through the cornea of the eye and to the headset, the fourth optical signal comprising a request to cease transmitting the third optical signal.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the optical signal has a different wavelength than a wavelength of the second optical signal.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the wavelength of the second optical signal is between 800 nm and 1,060 nm.

17 . A method performed by an intraocular system that includes a headset and an implant, the method comprising:
receiving image data captured by a camera of the headset while the headset is worn by a user, the image data including a visual representation of an environment of the headset; transmitting, by a high-powered laser diode, a first over-the-air optical signal through a cornea of an eye of the user to optically power the implant; transmitting, by a low-powered laser diode, a second over-the-air optical signal through the cornea, wherein the second over-the-air optical signal comprises the image data captured by the camera, and transmitting, by a light emitting diode (LED), a third over-the-air optical signal into the cornea of the eye and to the implant that is inside the eye, wherein the third over-the-air optical signal comprises a request to begi

Assignees

• Twenty Twenty Therapeutics Llc
• Verily Life Sciences Llc

Inventors

• Sinha Supriyo
• Azar Dimitri

Classifications

• H04B10/40

  Transceivers · CPC title

• H04B10/116

  Visible light communication · CPC title

• A61F2250/0002

  for data transfer · CPC title

• A61F2/141

  Artificial eyes · CPC title

• A61B3/14

  Arrangements specially adapted for eye photography · CPC title