CATARACTS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WORLDWIDE.

CATARACTS ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT WORLDWIDE. IN THE U.S. CATARACT EXTRACTIONS ARE THE MOST FREQUENTLY PERFORMED OF ALL OPHTHALMIC SURGERIES, NUMBERING 750,000 IN 1984. OF THESE, OVER 80% WERE EXTRACAPSULAR PROCEDURES. THE TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO NEARLY EVERY PHASE OF EXTRACAPSULAR CATARACT EXTRACTION (ECCE) HAS REACHED A HIGH STATE OF REFINEMENT. THE SIGNIFICANT EXCEPTION IS THE ANTERIOR CAPSULOTOMY, WHICH IS STILL BEING PERFORMED WITH A BENT NEEDLE IN NEARLY 90% OF ALL CASES. THIS PROCEDURE REQUIRES CONSIDERABLE DEXTERITY AND TRAINING IF DAMAGE TO OTHER INTRAOCULAR STRUCTURES IS TO BE AVOIDED. IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY UNSATISFACTORY AS POSTERIOR CHAMBER IOL FIXATION GROWS IN POPULARITY, AS THIS METHOD REQUIRES A CAPSULOTOMY WITH VERY CLEAN EDGES. SEVERAL ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR CAPSULOTOMIES HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND TESTED, BUT NONE HAS PROVED TO BE SATISFACTORY. THERE IS STILL A NEED FOR A SAFE, INEXPENSIVE, EFFICIENT, AND CONVENIENT INSTRUMENT FOR PERFORMING ANTERIOR CAPSULOTOMIES. PHASE I OF THIS PROPOSED PROJECT WOULD INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF PERFORMING CAPSULOTOMIES WITH A RADIO FREQUENCY CUTTING DEVICE. MID LABS PROPOSES TO BUILD A PROTOTYPE THAT WOULD ALLOW INVESTIGATORS TO VARY CERTAIN CRITICAL EXPERIMENTAL PARAMETERS THROUGH A WIDE RANGE OF VALUES, THUS ENSURING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OPTIONAL OPERATING MODE FOR RADIO FREQUENCY CAPSULOTOMIES.