# Intraocular Robotic Interventional and Surgical System for Automated Cataract Surgery

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2021 · $557,751

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
The long-term goals of the present study are to improve surgical outcomes and reduce the risk of surgical
complications of cataract surgery. It is our central hypothesis that intraoperative stabilization of the ocular
structures, complete lens extraction, and accurate positioning of the intraocular lens implant through robotic
manipulations and optical coherence tomography (OCT) feedback will significantly improve the safety of critical
surgical steps in cataract surgery. Through improvements in visualization and tool control, we theorize that the
risk of secondary cataracts, posterior capsule rupture, ametropia, and other surgical complications can be
eliminated to improve safety and abate the costs associated with cataract surgery and follow-up procedures.
Our main objective is to develop the technology necessary to realize per-operative stabilization and imaging of
ocular structures, complete lens extraction, and accurate positioning of the intraocular lens implant.
 Our group has developed the Intraocular Robotic Intervention and Surgical System (IRISS) to perform semi-
automated cataract surgery on ex-vivo pig eyes [1–7] through a combination of internal funding and a recent
R21 grant (NIH/R21EY024065). Through transpupillary OCT-guided automation, the IRISS has achieved
notable success in semi-automated cataract extraction.
 There are three independent specific aims. First, to control the surgical environment and improve intraocular
imaging quality, an integrated docking apparatus will constrain the eyeball motion and limit the motion of
intraocular tissues through intraocular pressure control while allowing tool access for intraocular manipulations.
Second, complete lens extraction will be enabled by an intraocular OCT imaging probe; precise feedback
control of the tool mounted and driven by the IRISS; and the real-time visualization of the iris, cornea, and
entire lens (including its posterior capsule and equator). Third, the ability to intraoperatively sense and control
the intraocular lens six degrees-of-freedom position and orientation will be realized through a new custom tool
guided by the transpupillary and intraocular OCT feedback. It is important to note that while the ultimate goal is
the integration of all three aims into an automated system, their development remains independent and
success or failure in one does not affect the outcome of another.
 The proposed contribution is significant because it offers to eliminate several common complications of
cataract surgery including posterior capsule rupture, secondary cataracts, and ametropia. The proposed
research is innovative because of its development of (1) a pressure-regulated docking device that stabilizes
intraocular tissue while allowing the access of intraocular tool and improved quality of per-operative imaging,
(2) visualization of the lens equator through an intraocular OCT probe and real-time image guided robotic
instrument control for complete...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10247632
- **Project number:** 5R01EY030595-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Tsu-Chin TC Tsao
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $557,751
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-30 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10247632

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10247632, Intraocular Robotic Interventional and Surgical System for Automated Cataract Surgery (5R01EY030595-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10247632. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*