Systematic and objective wet-lab testing of instruments for phacoemulsification: new Formalin Quadrant Model.

Purpose: To validate an improved wet-lab model for systematic and objective efficiency testing of instruments for phacoemulsification.

Setting: Institute of Medical Engineering, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Lucerne, Switzerland.

Design: Experimental study.

Methods: Porcine lenses were incubated for different time spans in formalin to simulate different cataract densities. Lenses were cut in quadrants and emulsified in a silicone test chamber. The use of ultrasound was restricted to full occlusion and the minimal power needed to promote emulsification. Equivalence to the surgical situation and cataract consistency were judged by an experienced surgeon. Efficiency was rated by effective phacoemulsification time, liquid consumption, and total surgery time.

Results: Formalin incubation times of 2 hours, 1.25 hours, and 0.5 hours were validated for hard, middle-hard, and soft cataracts, respectively. Systematic testing of different fluidics settings revealed the unique opportunities of the improved model: Experiments could be performed by laboratory staff without any surgical experience after a short training, and the model provided results in a fast and reproducible manner. Reduced effective phacoemulsification time, shorter total surgery time, and less liquid consumption were observed with higher fluidics settings, confirming and complementing earlier clinical findings.

Conclusions: The Formalin Quadrant Model can be used to test new designs of instrumentation on different cataract densities or various instrument settings for efficiency. Using a validated cataract substitute, it closely represents the clinical situation and thus renders valid results in a short time. Instruments can be tested and improved profoundly before costly and elaborate clinical trials have to be applied.