Inspecting needle holes for eye surgery

摘要

In ophthalmologic surgery, curved needles with a diameter of approximately 0.2 mm are used to close wounds. Suture thread is swaged to these tiny needles. The needle/ thread must merge seamlessly, maintaining a consistent diameter, so the needle cavity is completely filled with the suture thread. To achieve this goal, Johnson & Johnson Medical (Norderstedt, Germany) uses a laser to drill holes approximately 0.11 mm in diameter into which the suture thread is later manually inserted in a cleanroom and the needle/thread combination sterile-packed as a single unit.