Patent ID: 9173771
Filing Date: 2015-11-03
Classification: A61B,A61F

Abstract:
1. A capsulotomy device for accessing a lens capsule through a cornea of an eye, the device comprising: a handpiece having a tip for insertion into an incision in the cornea of the eye; a sliding element slidably disposed for translation within the handpiece; a suction cup mounted to the handpiece; a compression mechanism associated with the suction cup and the handpiece to compress the suction cup for deployment into an anterior chamber of the eye, the suction cup configured to expand inside the anterior chamber into a cutting position on the lens capsule; a cutting element mounted to the suction cup for cutting a portion of the lens capsule, wherein the cutting element is an electrode, the electrode mounted around an underside of the suction cup and comprising a continuous element along which current can travel in two opposite directions for conducting current uniformly around a portion of the tissue of the lens capsule to be severed; and one or more electrical elements for delivering current to an electrical lead connected to the electrode to heat the electrode for excising the portion of tissue, wherein the electrode comprises an upper ring that connects to the electrical lead and a lower ring that connects to the upper ring at two locations on opposite sides of the lower ring, and wherein the electrode is configured such that current travels from the upper ring to the lower ring via one of the locations and then travels around both sides of the lower ring to the location on an opposite of the lower ring to evenly distribute the current around the lower ring that is in contact with the lens capsule.