Preparing porcine lens to mimic human lens capsule

Abstract

Purpose: To develop a chemical method that makes porcine lens anterior capsule resemble human lens anterior capsule in tear force and perforating force. Setting: Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing, China Design: Experimental study. Methods: Porcine eyes were divided into groups, and reagents (0.9% physiological saline, 0.1% sodium hypochlorite, 0.3% sodium hypochlorite and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite) were injected into the anterior chamber respectively, recorded as groups A, B, C and D, respectively. A senior physician collected each group of anterior capsules after performing continuous circular capsulorhexis and assessing the anterior capsule's tearing and perforation forces.an additional group, which consisted of human lens anterior capsules taken in the operating room from cataract patients, recorded as group E. A tensile system was used to measure each sample's tensile force. Results: A significant difference was found between group A and any other group in maximum tensile force and average tensile force both in transverse and longitudinal directions. No significant difference was found between any two groups from group B to group E. According to the surgeon's assessment, the tear force characteristic of the porcine lens anterior capsule treated with 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% sodium hypochlorite solution was similar to that of the human lens anterior capsule. Conclusions: Porcine lens capsule treated using this method can be used for training of new surgeons. The porcine lens anterior capsule treated with 0.5% sodium hypochlorite, which results showed most resembled human lens anterior capsule, can be used for robotic training.