Patent ID: 7641627

Claim:
A drainage apparatus to reduce intraocular pressure in an eyeball that includes an anterior chamber having aqueous humor disposed therein, a cornea and a surrounding marginal limbus by which the cornea is continuous with a scleral layer and a conjunctival layer disposed on an exposed surface of the eyeball and under eyelids, said apparatus comprising: an inlet assembly configured to be disposed at the anterior chamber of the eyeball; an outlet assembly configured to be disposed at the external surface of the eyeball, said outlet assembly comprising inner and outer convex members; said inner and outer convex members being separated, thereby providing openings to allow aqueous humor to exit around the outer periphery thereof onto the external ocular surface, said inner and outer convex members being configured to generally correspond to the external surface of the eyeball, said inner member having a central cavity disposed therein and said outer member having a central chamber and at least one aperture disposed therein, where said central cavity and said central chamber are configured to matingly engage one another; a tube extending between said inlet and outlet assemblies and configured to promote fluid communication between said inlet and outlet assemblies; and control structure disposed within said outlet assembly for controlling a flow of aqueous humor through said tube from said anterior chamber of the eyeball to said external surface of the eyeball, and for preventing bacterial infiltration into the anterior chamber, said control structure comprising a replaceable filter disposed within said central chamber of said outer convex member, said outer convex member being configured to be removeable to facilitate removal and replacement of said filter without removing said inner convex member.