Patent ID: 7223287

Claim:
An injector device for injecting an intraocular implant into the eye of a patient, said implant comprising a flexible optical portion and two haptic branches each having a first end connected to said optical portion and a second end that is free, said device comprising: a folding chamber for folding the optical portion of the implant, said chamber having a first and a second end, a folding member, a hollow needle for injecting the folded implant into the eye, said hollow needle opening out at said first end of said chamber, a guide channel having an inside wall opening out at said second end of said chamber, and a moving piston mounted in said guide channel so as to push said folded implant into said hollow needle, said piston having a longitudinal axis, said piston including a cylindrical end for co-operating with said implant, said end including an end face substantially orthogonal to the length of the piston and a side wall, said end face presenting an opening that opens out in said side wall of the end of the piston and extends over a portion of the diameter of said end of the piston, said portion being less than the entire diameter of said end, said end being provided with a slot extending over a length in the axial direction of the piston, said slot length being such that, together with the length of said opening, the total length is not less than the length of the haptic branch, said slot communicating with said opening and also extending over the entire diameter of said end of the piston so as to open out at its diametral ends in said outside wall of the end of said piston, said slot and said opening having substantially the same width and substantially the same diametral median plane.