A Novel, Low-Cost, 3D-Printed Motorized Injector for Retinal Sheet Transplantation

Retinal transplantation offers promise for restoring vision in advanced retinal degeneration. However, manual delivery of retinal sheets is often hindered by imprecise placement and collateral tissue damage resulting from instrument instability. We introduce a novel, 3D-printed, motorized retinal sheet injector designed to enhance placement accuracy and minimize tissue injury. The motorized injector features an Arduino-controlled foot pedal with three discrete actuator positions ("Min", "Mid", "Max"). When compared via frame-by-frame motion analysis, the motorized system reduced tip variance by approximately threefold over manual methods. In addition, in in vitro gelatin trials, the motorized injector achieved significantly higher placement accuracy versus the manual injector, which suffered from occasional complete misplacements. The novel motorized retinal sheet injector markedly improves stability and placement accuracy relative to manual methods, potentially reducing complications associated with subretinal delivery. Safer subretinal delivery can pave the way for innovative research and advanced treatment for retinal disease.