Vitrectome with Integrated LED Illumination: Development and Testing

Background: In current vitrectomy, the surgeon guides the vitrectome and a rigid fiber light guide with one hand each. It would be desirable to have a free hand for other surgical instruments and maneuvers. Methods: In the feasibility study presented here, a 20 gauge vitrectome is equipped with a miniature white LED that could eliminate the need for the separate light guide and therefore free one hand. The functionality of the system is proved in a ping-pong ball filled with agar and an ex-vivo porcine eye. Results: The brightness of the approach appears to be sufficient without any realistic phototoxic retinal hazard while the functionality of the vitrectome, in combination with the LED, is still given. Conclusion: The combination of a 20 gauge vitrectome with a LED illumination unit was successfully tested. The approach can be transferred to small vitrectomes in the future