Low-cost optical system for laser phacoemulsification of cataracts
Mitchell Harrah1, Abdul Mohaimen Safi2, Sadhu Moka2
1University of South Florida, Department of Medical Engineering, Tampa, Florida, United States.
Significance:
Laser-based phacoemulsification is the preferred treatment for surgical removal of cataracts in the eye. Conventional methods of laser phacoemulsification use expensive, high-powered lasers that use femtosecond pulses to soften and emulsify cataracts, resulting in low- to middle-income countries relying on methods that lead to longer recovery times and higher rates of infection and astigmatism.
Aim:
We introduce and demonstrate the potential of laser phacoemulsification using a millisecond pulsed laser that can be realized using a low-cost diode laser.
Approach:
We show proof of concept for this device using computer simulations in COMSOL and with a prototype instrument tested on different tissue-simulating phantoms.
Results:
Our experiments show that the millisecond pulsed laser liquifies cataract-like tissues only at the point of illumination.
Conclusions:
A low-cost device for phacoemulsification can potentially reduce the burden of cataract surgeries in low-resource settings.
