SBIR Phase II: Development of a Lens Replacement Device that Provides Enhanced Visual Acuity.

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide enhanced vision for patients after cataract surgery. Current devices, called intraocular lenses (IOLs), can correct certain vision problems. However, commercially available IOLs do not provide the same restoration of capabilities as other surgeries, such as hip replacements. In particular, current IOLs do not address the problems of presbyopia which is the continual degradation of the ability to change focus from far to near object which eventually results in the need for reading glasses. Devices that attempt to address presbyopia, but fail, represent a $500MM current market. This project has a novel approach to the problem and the opportunity to positively affect the lives of the 3 million people each year that are undergoing cataract surgery. The proposed project will continue to push the bounds of our understanding of the mechanisms of human vision control. Previous work done to measure the forces in the eye used to change vision from near to far objects, will be utilized in the design and testing of an IOL that can truly provide changes in vision like the normal lens of a 30 year old human. Several iterations of design will be tested in a rhesus monkey model to determine the best way to capture the forces in the eye, the optimal design of the shape of the device and materials used, the choice of optic material, and the procedures to insert and activate the IOL. All with the objective to turn currently available forces in the eye into refractive changes in eyesight. The ultimate goal of this project is to have a design that can be used for an FDA application for human clinical trials.