Open Access
28 December 2019 Strong bonding of corneal incisions using a noncontact fiber-optic laser soldering method
Svetlana Basov, David Varssano, Max Platkov, Ilan Gabay, Mordechai Rosner, Irina S. Barequet, Marcel Rattunde, Joachim Wagner, Mickey Harlev, Doron Ofer, Ilana Nisky, Yair Dankner, Abraham Katzir
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Abstract

Suturing of corneal incisions requires significant skill. We demonstrate a noncontact method that will simplify the bonding process. 5-mm-long penetrating vertical and slanted incisions were made in corneas of eyes, extracted from dead piglets. A fiber-optic laser system was used for laser soldering of the incisions, under close temperature control, using albumin solder. The burst-pressure PB immediately after the soldering was found to be PB  ≈  92 and 875 mmHg, for vertical and slanted incisions, respectively. PB  =  875  mmHg is an exceptionally high figure, ≈10 times the clinically acceptable value for sutured incisions. Laser soldering was then performed on penetrating incisions made in the corneas of live healthy piglets, of weight ≈10  Kg. After a healing period, the eyes were extracted, and the corneas were examined by histopathology and by optical coherence tomography. Our method immediately generated watertight and strong bonding without noticeable corneal shape distortion. These results would be beneficial for cataract surgery and for corneal transplantations. The fiber-optic system makes it much easier to bond corneal incisions. In the future, laser soldering could be automated and efficiently used by less experienced surgeons, thereby reducing the workload on the experienced ones.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.
Svetlana Basov, David Varssano, Max Platkov, Ilan Gabay, Mordechai Rosner, Irina S. Barequet, Marcel Rattunde, Joachim Wagner, Mickey Harlev, Doron Ofer, Ilana Nisky, Yair Dankner, and Abraham Katzir "Strong bonding of corneal incisions using a noncontact fiber-optic laser soldering method," Journal of Biomedical Optics 24(12), 128002 (28 December 2019). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.24.12.128002
Received: 21 August 2019; Accepted: 11 November 2019; Published: 28 December 2019
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CITATIONS
Cited by 6 scholarly publications.
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KEYWORDS
Cornea

Laser bonding

Laser welding

Optical coherence tomography

Fiber optics

Surgery

In vivo imaging

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