In a unique initiative, the Chennai-based Agarwal Eye Hospital today announced an innovate technology for removing blood from the eye using ultrasound system.

The hospital introduced Bausch and Lomb's Hypersonic Vitrectomy System, A new Stellaris EliteTM Vision Enhancement System, an innovative technology for removing blood from eye using ultrasound unlike other machines which uses cutters. This latest technology is the first of its kind in the world, created on the surgical platform, which would allow surgeons to have maximum control over the surgical procedures by improving the outcomes for patients with vitreoretinal problems, Hospital Chairman Dr Amar Agarwal told reporters. The global clinical trials for this has been done by Dr Amar Agarwal at Dr.Agarwals group of Eye Hospitals. He said “the technology for performing vitrectomy has changed little over the last 40 years when the first single port, multi-functional pneumatic cutter was invented.''

''With this patented technology, this would be the first and only hypersonic device for vitreous removal which is US FDA approved. It will use a novel, single needle design, a continuous open-port system and will use highly localized tissue liquefaction zone at the edge of the port to liquefy vitreous for exceptional control during tissue removal'', he added. The faster vitreous was cut, the less was the amount of traction on it and therefore there was decreased risk on retina. Modern vitrectomy technology today operates at speeds up to 5,000 to 7,500 cuts per minute. Vitesse would enable to increase the cutting rate to approximately 1.7 million cuts per minute with the purpose to significantly decrease the amount of vitreous traction that occurs in vitrectomy.