SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR PREPARING CORNEAL TISSUE FOR IMPLANT
A technique can consistently achieve thicknesses of ≤50 μm for corneal tissue for Descemet stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK). Grafts with thicknesses of ≤50 μm are also known as nanothin DSAEK (NT-DSAEK) grafts. Evidence shows that using thinner DSAEK grafts, particularly NT-DSAEK grafts, can significantly improve visual outcomes. According to an example embodiment, a method for producing a corneal graft includes drying a donor cornea to cause a pre-cut thickness of the donor cornea to decrease. The method includes, concurrently with drying the donor cornea, determining pre-cut thickness measurements for the donor cornea. The method includes, in response to the pre-cut thickness measurements indicating the pre-cut thickness of the donor cornea has decreased to a predetermined value, cutting the donor cornea to a post-cut thickness of ≤100 μm, or more particularly ≤50 μm, to produce a corneal graft.
1 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising:
instructions stored on the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:
use an operator-specific nomogram to determine a predicted cut depth for a donor cornea, wherein the operator-specific nomogram is used to produce a corneal graft,
wherein a predetermined value is determined based on a difference between the predicted cut depth and a desired cut depth,
wherein the donor cornea is dried to cause a pre-cut thickness of the donor cornea to decrease,
wherein, concurrently with drying the donor cornea, pre-cut thickness measurements are determined for the donor cornea,
wherein, in response to the pre-cut thickness measurements indicating the pre-cut thickness of the donor cornea has decreased by the predetermined value, the donor cornea is cut to a post-cut thickness of less than or equal to 100 μm to produce the corneal graft, and
wherein the donor cornea is cut with a single-pass rotational style microkeratome with a selected microkeratome head.
2 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein:
the operator-specific nomogram uses data to generate the predicted cut depth, the data including a plurality of donor cornea cuts by an operator technician using the selected microkeratome head,
the data for each of the plurality of donor cornea cuts of the donor cornea includes a pre-cut thickness measurement taken immediately before cutting and a post-cut thickness measurement of the corneal graft,
the operator-specific nomogram generates the predicted cut depth based on an average of the cut depths for the plurality of donor cornea cuts, and
a cut depth for each of the plurality of donor cornea cuts is the difference between the pre-cut thickness measurement of the donor cornea and the post-cut thickness measurement.
3 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
use the operator-specific nomogram to determine an amount of desired drying and decrease in the pre-cut thickness of the donor cornea.
4 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
use the operator-specific nomogram to generate a predicted graft thickness, wherein the predicted graft thickness is the difference between the pre-cut thickness measurement and the average of the cut depths.
5 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to:
update the data for the operator-specific nomogram after each corneal graft is produced.