Surgical tool for electrode implantation

Abstract

The present invention is a surgical tool for implanting an electrode array and its connected cable within an orbital socket. The insertion tool is used to aid the surgeon in pulling the electrode wire and array through the scull, four-rectus muscles of the eye, and the sclera. The insertion tool consists of a medical grade ABS material that is commonly used in various medical products.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10 / 627,260, filed Jul. 24, 2003, which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60 / 399,012, filed Jul. 26, 2002, the disclosures of which are incorporated fully herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention is generally directed to implantable medical devices, in particular to a tool for implanting electrodes and their association wires. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] In 1755 LeRoy passed the discharge of a Leyden jar through the orbit of a man who was blind from cataract and the patient saw “flames passing rapidly downwards.” Ever since, there has been a fascination with electrically elicited visual perception. The general concepts of electrical stimulation of retinal cells to produce these flashes of light or phosphenes has been known for quite some time. Based on these general principles, some early attempts at devising a prosthesi...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

While some of these early attempts met with some limited success, these early prosthesis devices were large, bulky and could not produce adequate simulated vision to truly aid the visually impaired.

Such a device increases the possibility of retinal trauma by the use of its “bed of nails” type electrodes that impinge directly on the retinal tissue.

The retina is extraordinarily fragile.

In particular, retinal neurons are extremely sensitive to pressure; they will die if even a modest intraocular pressure is maintained for a prolonged period of time.

Furthermore, the retina, if it is perforated or pulled, will tend to separate from the underlying epithelium, which will eventually render it functionless.

Thus attachment of a conventional prosthetic retinal electrode device carries with it the risk of damage to the retina, because of the pressure that such a device could exert on the retina.

The penetrating electrodes are damaging to the delicate retinal tissue of a human eye and therefore are not applicable to enabling sight in the blind.

This cantilever configuration introduces complexity and it is very difficult to control the restoring force of the cantilever due to varying eye sizes.

This patent does not address reduction of damage to the retina and surrounding tissue or problems caused by excessive pressure between the retinal electrode array and the retina.

Implanting a retinal prosthesis fully within the eye may cause excessive heat buildup damaging the retina.

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