Patents Assigned to Alcon
  • Patent number: 9232889
    Abstract: The invention provides apparatuses and methods for detecting corneal surface defects. The methods and/or an apparatus of the invention can be used to detect corneal surface diseases, such as dry eye.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2016
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: Richard L. Ornberg, Gary W. Williams
  • Patent number: 9226819
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to the provision of an intraocular lens delivery device having a plunger with a multi-part plunger tip. The plunger tip includes a first part and a second part wherein the first part releases from the second part during travel of the plunger through the body of a delivery cartridge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 5, 2016
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: David A. Downer
  • Patent number: 9221905
    Abstract: The invention provides methods for identifying immunobinders, such as scFv antibodies, capable of specifically binding to cell surface antigens, and compositions identified according to said methods.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 29, 2015
    Assignee: ESBATech, an Alcon Biomedical Research Unit LLC
    Inventors: David Urech, Valerie Hulmann-Cottier
  • Patent number: 9192515
    Abstract: An ophthalmic endoprobe including a hand-piece and a cannula assembly having a longitudinal axis is provided. The cannula assembly including an inner tube concentric with an outer tube; wherein the hand-piece may further include a motor powered by a pneumatic energy source, the motor providing motion to a transmission shaft; and a transmission system to couple the shaft motion to the cannula assembly; wherein the transmission system provides a counter-rotating motion to the inner tube and the outer tube about the longitudinal axis of the cannula. A fluid console for use in endoscopic ophthalmic microsurgery including a pneumatics module to obtain a pneumatic force from an external source and provide an adjustable pneumatic force; a scanning module coupled to the pneumatics module; and an endoprobe coupled to the scanning module is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2012
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: ALCON RESEARCH, LTD.
    Inventors: Michael James Papac, Michael J. Yadlowsky, John Christopher Huculak
  • Patent number: 9189849
    Abstract: A method for performing multi-level eye registration comprising: obtaining a first initial reference eye image by a first diagnostic device and defining a reference coordinate system; obtaining a second eye image by a surgery device, said second eye image being obtained in a pre-surgery phase before the surgery has started; performing a first registration between said first eye image and said second eye image to obtain a first registration result; obtaining a third eye image by said surgery device, said third eye image being obtained after surgery has started; performing a second registration between said second eye image and said third eye image to obtain a second registration result; combining said first and second registration results to obtain a combined registration result to thereby obtain a registration between said initial reference eye image obtained by said diagnostic device and said third eye image obtained by said surgery device after surgery has started.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 25, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
    Inventors: Oliver Kersting, Horia Grecu
  • Patent number: 9180049
    Abstract: Vitrectomy probes and system related thereto are disclosed herein. The disclosure describes various example vitrectomy probes having an adjustable cutting port size. Various example features are described for adjusting the size of the cutting port. Further, the disclosure provides examples for adjusting the size of the cutter port while the vitrectomy probe is in operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: November 10, 2015
    Assignee: ALCON RESEARCH, LTD.
    Inventors: John R. Underwood, Jack Robert Auld, John Christopher Huculak
  • Publication number: 20150313755
    Abstract: A method of manufacturing a surgical device can include generating a first internal frame defining an internal structure of an instrument tip; covering at least a portion of the first internal frame with a first coating to define an exterior surface of the instrument tip; and generating an instrument body such that a proximal end of the instrument tip is positioned at a distal end of the instrument body. An ophthalmic surgical instrument can include an instrument body; and an instrument tip disposed at a distal end of the instrument body, the instrument tip including a first section linearly extending along a longitudinal axis of the instrument body and a second section extending obliquely from the first section, the second section being arcuately shaped; and wherein the instrument tip comprises a first internal frame and a first coating covering the first internal frame.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 2, 2014
    Publication date: November 5, 2015
    Applicant: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Philipp Schaller
  • Patent number: 9175249
    Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions comprising ethyleneoxide butyleneoxide and a galactomannan such as guar. The compositions are particularly well suited for ophthalmic applications such as contact lens disinfection and rewetting. Methods for the treatment of dry eye using the compositions of the present invention are also contemplated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2010
    Date of Patent: November 3, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: James W. Davis, Howard Allen Ketelson, David L. Meadows
  • Patent number: 9155653
    Abstract: A control valve for a fluidic system is disclosed. The control valve comprises a housing and a flow control membrane is disclosed. The flow control membrane is anchored within the housing to form a reference chamber on a first side of the membrane and a fluid flow channel on a second opposing side of the membrane. The fluid flow channel selectively opens and closes to permit fluid to flow from the inlet to the outlet, and the membrane is configured to control flow through the channel from the inlet to the outlet by deflecting in response to pressure differentials of the reference chamber pressure and the fluid flow channel pressure acting across the membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 13, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Leslie A Field
  • Patent number: 9149340
    Abstract: An ophthalmic surgical system includes a display device and a user interface. The display device generates a display on an image of a patient's eye comprising a plurality of non-overlapping display sectors. Each display sector displays one of a plurality of user-selectable surgical parameters. A user interface receives a user selection of one or more of the user-selectable surgical parameters to be displayed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: ALCON RESEARCH, LTD.
    Inventors: Mikhail Boukhny, Raphael Gordon, Alexander N. Artsyukhovich, Craig Gary Wooldridge, Tiffany Marie Sutliff
  • Patent number: 9149486
    Abstract: Aqueous suspension formulations containing dexamethasone and ciprofloxacin are disclosed for the treatment of middle ear infections in human patients having an open tympanic membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: ALCON PHARMACEUTICALS LTD
    Inventors: G. Michael Wall, Peter J. Conroy
  • Patent number: 9149388
    Abstract: A capsulorhexis apparatus includes a capsulorhexis probe configured for insertion into an eye through an incision and a pulse generator configured to deliver at least one radio-frequency (RF) pulse to the capsulorhexis probe. The delivered RF pulse has a pre-determined attenuation profile such that the power level of the delivered RF pulse is substantially attenuated over the RF pulse's duration. In some embodiments, the pulse generator is configured to deliver a series of two or more RF pulses to the eye, such that the energy of each of the second and subsequent pulses of the series is substantially attenuated relative to the energy of the immediately preceding pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2010
    Date of Patent: October 6, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: Guangyao Jia, Ahmad Salehi, Glenn Robert Sussman, Ann Yadlowsky
  • Patent number: 9144561
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to the provision of pharmaceutical compositions. The compositions include a therapeutic agent and a relatively low amount of surfactant for providing higher bioavailability of the therapeutic agent. The compositions are particularly desirable as ophthalmic compositions in which the therapeutic agent is a prostaglandin such as travoprost and the surfactant is a vegetable oil such as castor oil.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 1, 2014
    Date of Patent: September 29, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Bhagwati P. Kabra
  • Patent number: 9138481
    Abstract: The present invention is directed to cellulosic gel compositions having improved viscosity stability through the exclusion of particular antioxidants and/or the exclusion of chemical entities that tend to produce free radicals. Preferably, the composition is an ophthalmic cellulosic gel composition that is suitable as a multi-dose composition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: Gemma Torrella, Guadalupe Almera, Jordi Garcés
  • Publication number: 20150257931
    Abstract: A system for implantation in an eye of a patient includes a flow device sized for implantation into the eye of the patient. The flow device includes a fluid flow passageway and a flow system. The flow system may include a regulator having a magnetic element, and may be displaceable in the fluid flow passageway to affect flow through the fluid flow passageway. The system may also include a control device physically separate from the flow device and configured to be disposed outside the eye, the control device comprising an actuator magnetic field generator configured to act on the magnetic element to adjust the regulator in the flow system to selectively adjust flow through the flow device in response to changes in intraocular pressure.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2014
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Applicant: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: Robert Sanchez, Casey Lind
  • Publication number: 20150257930
    Abstract: An IOP control system for treatment of an ocular condition includes a drainage device sized for implantation into the eye of the patient, the drainage device including a fluid flow pathway to allow the flow of fluid from an inlet port to an outlet port. The drainage device also includes a flow system disposed within the drainage device and including a displaceable portion forming a part of the fluid flow pathway, the displaceable portion being displaceable via a magnetic field. An actuation system may be physically separate from the drainage device and may be configured to cooperate with the displaceable portion to displace the displaceable portion via the magnetic field to set free buildup or debris in the flow pathway.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2014
    Publication date: September 17, 2015
    Applicant: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Casey Lind
  • Patent number: 9132229
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates in general to an apparatus and method for priming a liquid or surgical cassette. In one embodiment, an infusion system within the liquid cassette is primed using a forward flow of a liquid and a backward flow of the liquid. The forward flow of the liquid creates a first volume of liquid stored within an infusion conduit, which is connected to an infusion chamber via a first valve. The infusion conduit has an infusion port exposed to a non-liquid environment having a first pressure. A second pressure is created in the infusion chamber that is lower than the first pressure. Opening the first valve causes a second volume of liquid within the infusion conduit to flow over the first valve and towards the infusion chamber. The second volume of liquid is less than or equal to the first volume of liquid.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventors: Shawn X. Gao, Roderick S. Van
  • Patent number: 9132034
    Abstract: An IOP control device for implantation in an eye of a patient is disclosed, including a housing with an entrance port and an exit port, a membrane anchored within the housing in a manner forming a flow control chamber on a first side of the membrane and a fluid flow passageway on a second opposing side of the membrane, and a position sensor system. The flow control chamber is arranged to contain a gas creating a flow control chamber pressure, and the membrane is configured to affect flow through the fluid flow passageway from the entrance port to the exit port by deflecting in response to changes in the flow control chamber pressure. The position sensor system includes a first conductive portion and a second conductive portion positioned to selectively contact the first conductive portion to indicate the position of the membrane relative to the fluid flow passageway.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 15, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Cesario P. Dos Santos
  • Patent number: 9125721
    Abstract: A pressure-driven valve is disclosed. The valve includes a housing and a flow control portion disposed within the housing. The housing includes a fluid inlet and a fluid outlet. The flow control portion has a first side subject to fluid flow pressure in a fluid flow channel, and a second side subject to an outlet pressure representative of pressure at the fluid outlet. The flow control portion is deformable to increase and decrease flow through the fluid flow channel based on pressure differentials between the fluid flow pressure, a tube pressure, and the outlet pressure. In some instances, the flow control portion comprises a flow control membrane and a radially-fluctuating pressure tube attached to the periphery of the membrane.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Research, Ltd.
    Inventor: Leslie A Field
  • Patent number: 9125559
    Abstract: An apparatus for monitoring one or more parameters of the eye of a patient over multiple sessions which are temporally spaced apart and between which the eye of the patient can have moved, said apparatus comprising: a camera for taking one or more images of the eye; an illumination unit for illuminating the eye by a ring-shaped light pattern to generate corneal reflections, said illumination unit being preferably located such that the center of the ring is coaxial with the optical axis of the camera; a module for determining during a first session the location of the corneal reflections in the image of the eye; a module for determining during said first session based on said determined location of the corneal reflections, at least one further parameter of the eye and its coordinates in a first coordinate system based on a geometrical model representing the eye as a spherical eyeball having a spherically shaped cornea mounted thereon; a module for determining during a second session temporally spaced apart fro
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2012
    Date of Patent: September 8, 2015
    Assignee: Alcon Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
    Inventors: Oliver Kersting, Martin Grundig