Background: In cataract surgery, polishing of the posterior capsule (PC) can lead to improved surgical outcomes but is currently avoided due to its high-risk nature. This work developed a robotic system capable of performing PC polishing on ex vivo pig eyes using optical coherence tomography (OCT) guidance.
Methods: The lenses of five ex vivo pig eyes were extracted and a thin layer of glue deposited onto the PC. Transpupillary OCT scans of the anterior segment were used to generate a PC-polishing trajectory. During polishing, OCT B-scans tracked the tool tip and were displayed to the operator.
Results: Complete removal of the glue was accomplished in all five trials with no PC rupture reported.
Conclusions: The feasibility of using a robotic system guided by OCT to perform PC polishing on a biological model was demonstrated. Contributions include modelling of the PC anatomy, intraoperative OCT visualization, and automated tool-tip motion with scheduled aspiration pressures.
Keywords: 3D imaging; PC polishing; cataract surgery; eyes; imaged guided surgery; intraoperative imaging; mechatronics; microsurgery; minimal invasive surgery (MIS); navigation; ophthalmology; optical coherence tomography (OCT); posterior capsule.
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.