Abstract: A scalpel is set forth having a handle with a blade at one end which defines a first depth of cut. To transform the scalpel for cutting to a lesser, second depth of cut a removable guard is provided. The guard is attached to the scalpel handle with a bayonet-type connection and has a tip to be disposed near one side of the blade. When the guard is attached, the blade projects past the tip a predetermined amount to define the second depth of cut. Guards are constructed for right or left hand preference.

Abstract: The present invention is an ophthalmic instrument for use in performing radial keratotomy on the cornea of a patient for correcting myopia and/or astigmatism of the patient. The ophthalmic instrument includes a surgical blade having a suitable width for making an incision into the cornea of the patient and an elongated handle which is formed out of a plastic material and to which the surgical blade is fixedly coupled. The ophthalmic instrument also includes a depth-guide which is a hollow, cylindrical member and which is formed out of a plastic material.

Abstract: The present invention is an intraocular lens for implantation into the posterior chamber of a human eye. The intraocular lens includes a plano-convex lens which is formed from an optical material that is suitable for an implanatable lens. The plano-convex lens is adapted to be inserted into the posterior chamber of the human eye within the capsular membrane thereof. The intraocular lens also includes a first supporting loop and a second supporting loop, which are formed from a material that is suitable for implantation into the eye, mechanically coupled to the peripheral edge of plano-convex lens and disposed at an angle in the range of 0.degree. to 25.degree. to the plane surface of the plano-convex lens so that their end portions are below the plane surface of the plano-convex lens.

Abstract: A posterior lens implant tool for use in combination with an intraocular lens for implantation in the posterior chamber of the human eye. The intraocular lens includes a plano-convex lens, which is formed from an optical material that is suitable for an implantable lens. The plano-convex lens is adapted to be inserted into the posterior chamber of the human eye within the capsular membrane thereof. The intraocular lens also includes a pair of supporting loops which are formed from a material that is suitable for implantation into the eye, mechanically coupled to the peripheral edge of plano-convex lens and disposed at an angle in the range of 0.degree. to 25.degree. to the plane surface of the plano-convex lens so that their end portions are below the plane surface of the plano-convex lens.

Abstract: The present invention is a system for controlling astigmatism during cataract surgery in which a microscope, having an eyepiece, a tube and an objective lens and having a magnification power of 100 times, is used which includes a length of suture material which is adapted to close a corneal incision and which is cylindrically shaped. The length of suture material has a plurality of parallel lines, which are spaced equally at very close distances in the range of 5,000 to 20,000 lines per inch and which are disposed orthogonally to the longitudinal axis on the cylindrical surface of said length of suture material. When the strain in the length of suture material is in the range of 0.1 percent to 10.0 percent, a reticule is disposed in the microscope adjacent to the objective lens thereof.

Abstract: The present invention is an intraocular lens for implantation into the posterior chamber of a human eye. The intraocular lens includes a plano-convex lens, which is formed from an optical material that is suitable for an implantable lens. The plano-convex lens is adapted to be inserted into the posterior chamber of the human eye within the capsular membrane thereof. The intraocular lens also includes a first supporting loop and a second supporting loop, which are formed from a material that is suitable for implantation into the eye, mechanically coupled to the peripheral edge of plano-convex lens and disposed at an angle in the range of 0.degree. to 25.degree. to the plane surface of the plano-convex lens so that their end portions are below the plane surface of the plano-convex lens. The second supporting loop has a notch which is disposed between the peripheral edge of the plano-convex lens and its end portions so that a temporary securement to the iris of the human eye may be accomplished.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed for the manufacture of plastic intraocular lenses of the type used for transplant in the human eye for natural lens replacement in cataract surgery. The novel methods and apparatus of the present invention are characterized in that the lines or wires used as retention loops are attached to the plastic lens bodies by fusing the ends thereof internally of the lens body in a position remote from the outer peripheries of the lens bodies but outside the central areas of vision of the lens bodies, one method of fusing the ends of the wires to the lens bodies being by heating the wires and pushing them into the lens bodies.

Abstract: The invention is a prepupillary lens which may be surgically implanted into a human eye. The lens may be either a two-loop lens or a four-loop lens. The two-loop lens has a convex surface and a planar surface, into which a pair of posterior loops are embedded and fused therein. The four-loop lens is similar to the two-loop lens, but it also includes two pairs of parallel bores in the lens disposed in a plane between the convex surface and the planar surface and aligned with the posterior loops and a pair of anterior loops inserted into the bores and fused therein.