Abstract
Purpose :
To 1) measure the flow of Buffered Saline Solution (BSS) of 27-Gauge (Ga) dual-pneumatic 10,000 cuts per minute (cpm) vitrectomy probes at various vitrectomy system settings and 2) compare flow performance at maximum cut rate: 10,000 cuts per minute (cpm) dual-pneumatic vitrectomy probes versus existing 7,500cpm dual-pneumatic vitrectomy probes.
Methods :
A precision balance (Mettler Toledo, XS with reliability of 0.1 g/ 1g, Greifensee, Switzerland) reported the mass of BSS in an open beaker. During 27+® Ga Advanced UltraVit® and UltraVit® vitrectomy probe aspiration of BSS, a LabVIEW VI program calculated the volumetric flow rate using the change in weight, duration of aspiration, and BSS density. Testing was evaluated at cut rates of 500, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500, and 10,000cpm. Three duty cycle modes were tested: Core, 50/50, and Shave. For each vitrectomy parameter combination, flow was measured at least 3 times and averaged. For each duty cycle and cut rate combination, average flow rates and standard deviations were reported. A Welch’s statistical T-Test compared Advanced UltraVit® BSS flow at maximum cut rate (10,000cpm) to previous generation UltraVit® BSS flow at maximum cut rate (7,500cpm). A statistical significance level of p<0.05 was used.
Results :
BSS flow was highest in the Core mode and ranged from 5.10±0.19 to 7.41±0.24 cc/min. BSS flow was lowest in the Shave duty cycle and ranged 2.88±0.22 – 5.13±0.13 cc/min. In the 50% duty cycle mode, BSS flow was 5.16±0.20 – 5.29±0.27cc/min. Statistical comparisons at maximum cut rate demonstrated that 10,000cpm probes generated 21-24% higher BSS flow than previous generation 7,500cpm probes in the Core, 50%, and Shave duty cycle modes (+0.79cc/min, p<<0.05; +0.95cc/min, p<<0.05; +1.0cc/min, p<<0.05).
Conclusions :
At a maximum cut rate of 10,000cpm, 27Ga dual-pneumatic probes generated significantly greater BSS aspiration flow than previous generation probes at maximum cut rate (7,500cpm). When operating at 10,000cpm, dual pneumatic probes offer more effective aspiration than previous generation probes and may optimize surgical efficiency.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.