Hydraulic delivery of surgical implants
An apparatus for eye surgery may comprise a nozzle having a delivery lumen, an implant bay coupled to the nozzle, an implant disposed in the implant bay, and an actuator coupled to the implant bay. The actuator may comprise a housing, a plunger disposed within the housing, a bore through the plunger, a first coupling proximate to a first end of the plunger, and a second coupling integral to the housing. The bore may be fluidly coupled to the implant bay. The first coupling may be configured to receive a hydraulic driver and fluidly couple a working fluid in the hydraulic driver to the bore. A portion of the plunger may be slidingly disposed through the second coupling. In some embodiments, the second coupling may be configured to retain a drive coupling of the hydraulic driver in a fixed position relative to the housing.
1. An apparatus for eye surgery, the apparatus comprising:
a nozzle having a delivery lumen;
an implant bay coupled to the nozzle;
an implant disposed in the implant bay; and
an actuator coupled to the implant bay, the actuator comprising:
a housing,
a plunger disposed within the housing, the plunger having a first end and a second end,
a bore through the plunger,
a first coupling proximate to the first end, and
a second coupling integral to the housing;
wherein the bore is fluidly coupled to the implant bay, the first coupling is configured to receive a hydraulic driver in a first position and fluidly couple a working fluid in the hydraulic driver to the bore, and the second coupling is configured to engage the hydraulic driver in a second position.
2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second coupling is configured to retain the hydraulic driver in the second position.
3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the second coupling comprises a thread trap.
4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the thread trap comprises internal threads configured to receive external threads on the hydraulic driver.
5. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the thread trap comprises teeth.
6. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the thread trap comprises a ratchet system.
7. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a nozzle seal disposed proximate to the second end of the plunger.
8. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an implant interface coupled to the second end of the plunger and configured to engage the implant.
9. The apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the implant interface extends into the implant bay.
10. An apparatus for advancing a lens in an implant delivery system, the apparatus comprising:
a housing configured to be coupled to an implant bay;
a plunger disposed within the housing, the plunger having a first coupling and an implant interface;
a bore passing through the plunger; and
a second coupling integral to the housing;
wherein the bore is configured to be fluidly coupled to the implant bay, the first coupling is configured to receive a hydraulic driver in a first position and fluidly couple a working fluid in the hydraulic driver to the bore, and the second coupling is configured to engage the hydraulic driver in a second position.
11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the second coupling is configured to retain the hydraulic driver in the second position.
12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second coupling comprises a thread trap.
13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the thread trap comprises internal threads configured to receive external threads on the hydraulic driver.
14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the thread trap comprises teeth.
15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the thread trap comprises a ratchet system.
16. The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising a nozzle seal disposed proximate to the implant interface.
17. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a portion of the plunger is slidingly disposed through the second coupling.
18. A method of ejecting a lens from an implant delivery system, the method comprising:
providing the lens in an implant bay of the implant delivery system;
coupling a hydraulic driver to a plunger of the implant delivery system;
advancing the hydraulic driver from a first position to a second position to drive the plunger and advance the lens from the implant bay to a delivery lumen of the implant delivery system;
retaining the hydraulic driver in the second position;
pressing a working fluid from the hydraulic driver to move the working fluid through a bore in the plunger to the delivery lumen; and
advancing the lens through the delivery lumen with the working fluid.