Abstract
Purpose :
The purpose of this study is to characterize Buffered Saline Solution (BSS) aspiration flow of 23-Gauge (Ga) dual-pneumatic 10,000 cuts per minute (cpm) vitrectomy probes at various vitrectomy system settings. Flow performance at maximum cut rate (10,000 cuts per minute (cpm)) will be compared to flow of existing 7,500cpm dual-pneumatic vitrectomy probes at maximum cut rate.
Methods :
Aspiration flow rates through 23 Ga Advanced UltraVit® and UltraVit® vitrectomy probes were measured using a precision balance (Mettler Toledo, XS with reliability of 0.1 g/ 1g, Greifensee, Switzerland) that reported the mass of BSS in an open beaker. A LabVIEW VI program calculated the volumetric flow rate from the weight change while a vitrectomy probe aspirated BSS from an open beaker. Cut rates of 500, 2,500, 5,000, 7,500, and 10,000cpm were tested. All 3 duty cycle modes (ie, Core, 50/50, and Shave) were evaluated. At each specified duty cycle and cut rate, flow was measured for the same parameter set at least 3 times and averaged. The average BSS flow rates were reported for each duty cycle and cut rate combination. The statistical Welch’s t-test was used to compare 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 :
For cut rates ranging from 500-10,000cpm, the Core duty cycle generated the highest BSS flow (9.65±0.15-17.77±0.34cc/min), while Shave duty cycle generated the lowest BSS flow (5.54±0.36-9.24±0.22cc/min). In the 50% duty cycle, BSS flow associated with 500-10,000cpm cut rates ranged from 9.69±0.25cc/min to 11.77±0.23cc/min. At maximum cut rate, 10,000cpm probes generated 77-80% higher BSS flow than previous generation 7,500cpm probes in the Core, 50%, and Shave duty cycle modes (+4.23cc/min, p<<0.05; +4.32cc/min, p<<0.05; +4.02cc/min, p<<0.05).
Conclusions :
The 23Ga dual-pneumatic probes operating at a maximum cut rate of 10,000cpm, generated significantly greater BSS aspiration than previous generation probes operating at 7,500cpm. At maximum cut rate, BSS aspiration of dual-pneumatic probes is optimized and may provide greater surgical efficiency than previous generation probes.
This is an abstract that was submitted for the 2018 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29 - May 3, 2018.