Abstract
Purpose :
Utmost stability is required to perform intravitreal injections; however, the conventional syringe presents difficulties that can compromise control of the device. A comparative study was performed to compare the accuracy, precision, and handling of a conventional 1mL tuberculin syringe to the Suh Precision Syringe (SPS), a new injection device designed to decrease operator error and to reduce adverse outcomes by providing a more ergonomic grip for intraocular injections.
Methods :
6 participants – an ophthalmologist, PGY1 ophthalmology resident, and 3 medical students — were instructed to inject a specified quantity of water first using a conventional syringe and then using the Suh Precision Syringe (SPS). Injections were made into 0.2 mL PCR tubes and a sheep eye while being recorded. The degree of needle movement made in the vertical plane, the forward-retraction movement, during each injection was measured using software to analyze the footage at 59.9 frames per second. The volume of water injected into the PCR tubes was measured to compare the accuracy and precision of the devices. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was performed to assess for differences in median values between the SPS and conventional syringe.
Results :
As compared to the conventional syringe, the Suh Precision Syringe (SPS) had significantly less forward-retraction movement when injecting into the sheep eye (P = 0.04). Similarly, the movement of the needle when injecting into the PCR tube was less while using the SPS compared with the conventional syringe; however, this was not statistically significant (P = 0.09). There was no significant difference in the volume of water expelled from both syringes (P = 0.28).
Conclusions :
The SPS demonstrates significant potential to decrease the overall risk involved with injections through reduction of forward-retraction movement during device operation. This new syringe design also provides better control with injection depth and drug injection volume. With its more ergonomic design, the Suh Precision Syringe has the potential to decrease risks associated with intraocular injections by improving the accuracy and precision of the injection.
This abstract was presented at the 2019 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Vancouver, Canada, April 28 - May 2, 2019.