IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,295,831
Granted Patent B2
US 12,295,831 · App. 18/508,702 · Granted May 13, 2025

Liquid accommodating intraocular lens with an asymmetric chamber

Inventors: Yu-Chong Tai (Pasadena, CA); Mark S. Humayun (Glendale, CA)
Assignees: California Institute of Technology; University of Southern California
A61F2/1635A61F2002/1683A61F2002/169A61F2002/16901A61F2002/16902A61F2230/0013A61F2240/001A61F2250/0003A61F2250/0013
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,295,831
App. No.
18/508,702
Granted
May 13, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

An accommodating intraocular lens (IOL) is formed from an anterior or posterior half molded as a chambered, polymer sack with a mouth opening smaller than its largest width that is mated to another half molded as a pliable bowl having a rim larger than the rest of the half. The resulting shell has a seam that is parallel to and does not cross or touch the equator such that the IOL is asymmetric between its front and back. A circular depression around the optical axis can be made in the anterior and/or posterior half such that a surrounding capsular bag seals against the rim of the depression, and an interior of the depression(s) does not touch the capsular bag.

Claims (44)

1. An accommodating intraocular lens apparatus comprising:

a first half formed from a polymer sack having a mouth smaller than an equator of the sack;

a second half formed from a pliable bowl with a rim;

a seam joining the mouth of the first half with the rim of the second half to form a liquid-inflatable shell, an optical axis passing through the first half and the second half;

a sealable valve in the shell;

a haptic arm projecting from the first half; and

a haptic arm projecting from the second half,

wherein the haptic arms are joined at ends that are away from the shell and equator.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the seam is parallel to the equator.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein a distance between the seam and the equator is between 1.0 millimeter and 1.5 millimeters.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a depression formed in the shell, the depression having a continuous rim disposed around the optical axis,

the continuous rim configured to seal against an enveloping capsular bag when implanted.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein a highest point within the depression is lower than the continuous rim when the shell is full of liquid,

the depression being configured to hold an enveloping capsular bag away from shell wall material within the depression.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 further comprising:

a second depression formed in the shell, the second depression having a continuous rim disposed around the optical axis,

the continuous rim of the second depression configured to seal against an enveloping capsular bag when implanted.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein a highest point within the second depression is lower than the continuous rim of the second depression when the shell is full of liquid,

the second depression being configured to hold an enveloping capsular bag away from shell wall material within the second depression.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the haptic arm projecting from the first half is connected to the equator.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the haptic arm projecting from the first half does not project from the equator.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the haptic arms flank the equator.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the joined ends of the haptic arms and angles between the haptic arms form a Y-shaped structure.

12. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the haptic arm projecting from the first half is connected to the first half at one-half a thickness of the first half, and

the haptic arm projecting from the second half is connected to the second half at one-half a thickness of the second half.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the sealable valve includes:

an annulus; and

a self-sealing polymer body surrounded by the annulus, the polymer body being softer than the annulus.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein a hardness of the annulus is between 80A Shore and 90A Shore, and a hardness of the polymer body is between 20A Shore and 40A Shore.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

a layer of parylene over an outer surface of the sealable valve.

16. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising:

liquid filling the liquid-inflatable shell.

17. A method of manufacturing and testing an accommodating intraocular lens, the method comprising:

providing a first half formed from a polymer sack having a mouth smaller than an equator of the sack;

providing a second half formed from a pliable bowl with a rim;

joining the mouth of the first half with the rim of the second half to form a liquid-inflatable shell, an optical axis passing through the first half and the second half;

mating an end of a first haptic arm projecting from the first half to an end of a second 8 haptic arm projecting from the second half, wherein the joined ends are away from the shell and the equator; and

filling, through a sealable valve, the shell with liquid.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein the joining includes adding uncured polymer across the first and second halves to form a seam, wherein the seam is parallel to the equator.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising:

squeezing the equator to increase a wall curvature of the one of the halves around the optical axis more than a wall curvature of the other half around the optical axis.

20. The method of claim 17 wherein the haptic arm projecting from the first half does not project from the equator.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 15, 2023
From: TAI, YU-CHONG
To: CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Reel/Frame 065572/0460 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 15, 2023
From: HUMAYUN, MARK S.
To: UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Reel/Frame 065572/0669 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 63545255 · Oct 23, 2023
Related Publication 20250127611A1 · Apr 24, 2025
References Cited (112)
US 4578063A · Inman et al. · 1986 [cited by applicant]
US 4666445A · Tillay · 1987 [cited by applicant]
US 4685921A · Peyman · 1987 [cited by applicant]
US 4816031A · Pfoff · 1989 [cited by applicant]
US 4822360A · Deacon · 1989 [cited by applicant]
US 4888016A · Langerman · 1989 [cited by applicant]
US 4995880A · Galib · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5035710A · Nakada et al. · 1991 [cited by applicant]
US 5091121A · Nakada et al. · 1992 [cited by applicant]
US 5213579A · Yamada et al. · 1993 [cited by applicant]
US 6358279B1 · Tahi et al. · 2002 [cited by applicant]
US 7137994B2 · de Juan, Jr. et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 7326649B2 · Rodger et al. · 2008 [cited by applicant]
US 7569048B2 · Brown · 2009 [cited by applicant]
US 7774931B2 · Tai et al. · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7806929B2 · Brown · 2010 [cited by applicant]
US 7883540B2 · Niwa et al. · 2011 [cited by applicant]
US 8715345B2 · DeBoer et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 8771347B2 · DeBoer et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 9427312B2 · DeBoer et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 11376116B2 · Webb · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20040068317A1 · Knight · 2004 [cited by applicant]
US 20050177169A1 · Fisher et al. · 2005 [cited by applicant]
US 20060047339A1 · Brown · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060084949A1 · Peyman · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20060178741A1 · Zadno-Azizi et al. · 2006 [cited by applicant]
US 20070004852A1 · Mentak · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20070016294A1 · Greenberg et al. · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20070213818A1 · Carroazp · 2007 [cited by applicant]
US 20120303118A1 · DeBoer et al. · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20120310343A1 · Van Noy · 2012 [cited by applicant]
US 20130053954A1 · Rao et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130150960A1 · DeBoer et al. · 2013 [cited by applicant]
US 20130317608A1 · Hermans · 2013 [cited by examiner]
US 20140180403A1 · Silvestrini et al. · 2014 [cited by applicant]
US 20140330375A1 · McCafferty · 2014 [cited by examiner]
US 20160184090A1 · Shi et al. · 2016 [cited by applicant]
US 20180161151A1 · Honigsbaum · 2018 [cited by examiner]
US 20190209291A1 · Dudee · 2019 [cited by examiner]
US 20200008931A1 · Argento et al. · 2020 [cited by applicant]
US 20220183820A1 · Mueller · 2022 [cited by examiner]
US 20220273423A1 · Argento et al. · 2022 [cited by applicant]
US 20220387169A1 · Ellis · 2022 [cited by applicant]
CN 105377189 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
EP 3068343 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
JP 61122870S · 1986 [cited by applicant]
JP 63200755S · 1988 [cited by applicant]
JP 04132547 · 1992 [cited by applicant]
JP 04132547A · 1992 [cited by applicant]
JP 2004022746A · 1992 [cited by applicant]
JP 11505453H · 1999 [cited by applicant]
JP 2002502666A · 2002 [cited by applicant]
JP 2002516708A · 2002 [cited by applicant]
JP 2002537066A · 2002 [cited by applicant]
JP 2003532491A · 2003 [cited by applicant]
JP 2007089810 · 2007 [cited by applicant]
JP 2008520310A · 2008 [cited by applicant]
JP 2010540070A · 2010 [cited by applicant]
KR 1020160086767 · 2016 [cited by applicant]
WO 199940877A1 · 1999 [cited by applicant]
WO 200185067A2 · 2001 [cited by applicant]
WO 0205015A2 · 2002 [cited by applicant]
WO 2005050292A1 · 2005 [cited by applicant]
WO 2006041550A2 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
WO 2006074843A1 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
WO 2006117208A1 · 2006 [cited by applicant]
WO 2009021327A1 · 2009 [cited by applicant]
WO 2012161749A1 · 2012 [cited by applicant]
WO 2015073060A1 · 2015 [cited by applicant]
Alfonso et al., “Prospective visual evaluation of apodized diffractive intraocular lenses,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 33:1235-43, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Atchison, D. et al., Optics of the Human Eye, p. 18, Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. 2000. [cited by applicant]
Ben-Nun, J. et al., “Feasibility and development of a high-power real accommodating intraocular lens,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 31:1802-08, 2005. [cited by applicant]
Burd, H. et al., “Numerical modeling of the accommodating lens,” Vision Research, 42:2235-51, 2002. [cited by applicant]
Chong, L. et al., “A self-stabilizing lens ring for 25-gauge vitrectomy surgery,” Am J Ophthalmol, 143:350-351, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Cillino, S. et al., “One-year outcomes with new-generation multifocal intraocular lenses,” Ophthalmology, 115:1508-16, 2008. [cited by applicant]
Cumming, J. et al., “Clinical evaluation of the Crystalens AT-45 accommodating intraocular lens: Results of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration clinical trial,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 32:812-825, 2006. [cited by applicant]
Duane, A., “Normal values of the accommodation at all ages,” JAMA, 59(12):1020-13, 1912. [cited by applicant]
Dubbelman, M. et al., “Change in shape of the aging human crystalline lens with accommodation,” Vision Res, 45:117-132, 2005. [cited by applicant]
Findl, O. et al., “Meta-analysis of accommodating intraocular lenses,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 33:522-527, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Glasser, A. et al., “Presbyopia and the optical changes in the human crystalline lens with age,” Vision Research, 38(2):209-229, 1998. [cited by applicant]
Glasser, A., “Restoration of accommodation: surgical options for correction of presbyopia,” Clin Exp Optom, 91(3):279-295, 2008. [cited by applicant]
Hermans, E. et al., “Development of a ciliary muscle-driven accommodating intraocular lens,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 34:2133-2138, 2008. [cited by applicant]
Heys, K. et al., “Massive increase in the stiffness of the human lens nucleus with age: the basis for presbyopia?” Mol Vis, 10:956-963, 2004. [cited by applicant]
Kasthurirangan, S. et al., “MRI study of the changes in crystalline lens shape with accommodation and aging in humans,” J Vis, 11(3):19, 1-16, 2011. [cited by applicant]
Kessler, J., “Experiments in refilling the lens,” Arch Ophthalmol, 71:412-417, 1964. [cited by applicant]
Koretz, J. et al., “Accommodation and presbyopia in the human eye—aging of the anterior segment,” Vision Research, 29(12):1685-92, 1989. [cited by applicant]
Koopmans, S.A. et al., “Accommodative lens refilling in rhesus monkeys,” Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 47:2976-2984, 2006. [cited by applicant]
Koopmans, S.A. et al., “Polymer refilling of presbyopic human lenses in vitro restores the ability to undergo accommodative changes,” Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 44(1): 250-257, 2003. [cited by applicant]
Menapace, R. et al., “Accommodating intraocular lenses: a critical review of present and future concepts,” Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 245:473-489, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Nishi, O. et al., “Accommodation amplitude after lens refilling with injectable silicone by sealing the capsule with a plug in primates,” Arch Ophthalmol, 116:1358-61, 1998. [cited by applicant]
Nishi, O. et al., “Amplitudes of accommodation of primate lenses refilled with two types of inflatable endocapsular balloons,” Arch Ophthalmol, 111:1677-1684, 1993. [cited by applicant]
Nishi, Y. et al., “Lens refilling to restore accommodation,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 35:374-382, 2009. [cited by applicant]
Ossma, I. et al., “Synchrony dual-optic accommodating intraocular lens. Part 2: Pilot clinical evaluation,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 33:47-52, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Pau, H., et al., “The increasing sclerosis of the human lens with age and its relevance to accommodation and presbyopia,” Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 229:294-296, 1990. [cited by applicant]
Qiao, W. et al., “Bio-inspired accommodating fluidic intraocular lens,” Opt Lett, 34(20):3214-16, 2009. [cited by applicant]
Rosales, P. et al., “Crystalline lens radii of curvature from Purkinje and Scheimpflug imaging,” J Vis, 6:1057-67, 2006. [cited by applicant]
Strenk, S. et al., “Age-related changes in human ciliary muscle and lens: Magnetic resonance imaging study,” Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 40:1162-69, 1999. [cited by applicant]
Strenk, L. et al., “The mechanism of presbyopia,” Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, 24:379-393, 2005. [cited by applicant]
Von Helmholtz, H., “§12. Mechanism of Accommodation,” Helmholtz's Treatise on Physiological Optics, pp. 143-172, Optical Society of America, 1924. [cited by applicant]
Weeber, H.A. et al., “Stiffness gradient in the crystalline lens,” Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol, 245:1357-66, 2007. [cited by applicant]
Wolffsohn, J. el al., “Subjective and objective performance of the Lenstec KH-3500 “accommodative” intraocular lens,” Br J Ophthalmol, 90:693-696, 2006. [cited by applicant]
Zhao, G. et al., “Visual function after monocular implantation of apodized diffractive multifocal or single-piece monofocal intraocular lens: Randomized prospective comparison,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 36(9):282-285, 2… [cited by applicant]
Fisher, “The Force of Contraction of the Human Ciliary Muscle During Accommodation,” J. Physiol., 1977, vol. 270, pp. 51-74. [cited by applicant]
Fisher, “The Significance of the Shape of the Lens and Capsular Energy Changes in Accommodation,” J. Physiol., 1969, vol. 201, pp. 21-47. [cited by applicant]
Fisher, “Some Experimental Studies of Human Accommodation and Presbyopia,” (Summary) Recent Advances in Visual Sciences, Section of Ophthalmology, Oct. 1973, vol. 66, p. 1037. [cited by applicant]
Floyd et al., “Capsular bag opacification with a new accommodating intraocular lens,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 2013, vol. 39, pp. 1415-1420. [cited by applicant]
Glasser et al., “Aging of the Human Crystalline Lens and Presbyopia,” International Ophtalmology Clinics, Spring 2001, vol. 41, Issue 2, pp. 1-15. [cited by applicant]
Glasser et al., “Biometric, optical and physical changes in the isolated human crystalline lens with age in relation to presbyopia,” Vision Research, 1999, vol. 39, pp. 1991-2015. [cited by applicant]
Koeppl et al., “Pilocarpine-induced shift of an accommodating intraocular lens: AT-45 Crystalens,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 2005, vol. 31, pp. 1290-1297. [cited by applicant]
Leishman et al., “Prevention of capsular bag opacification with a modified hydrophilic acrylic disk-shaped intraocular lens,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 2012, vol. 38, pp. 1664-1670. [cited by applicant]
Souza et al., “Visual Performance of AcrySof ReSTOR Apodized Diffractive IOL: A Prospective Comparative Trial,” Am J Ophthalmol., 2006, vol. 141, pp. 827-832. [cited by applicant]
Werner et al., “Capsular bag opacification after experimental implantation of a new accommodating intraocular lens in rabbit eyes,” J Cataract Refract Surg, 2004, pp. 111-1123. [cited by applicant]