News

Study: Jackhammer vs. Cavitation

Dr. Jaime Zacharias at the Clinica Oftalmologica Pasteur of Santiago, Chile, presented the findings of his study on the “jackhammer effect” compared to cavitation in phacoemulsification at the annual ESCRS convention held in September 2006 in London.

Cavitation is clearly seen at the tip in Figure 2a, but it is completely absent from the tip in Figure 2b. This shows that our hyperbaric methodology is effective to cancel cavitation at the tip of a phaco probe.

back to top

According to Zacharias, “If cavitational energy is irrelevant to lens cutting, it makes sense to design and use phaco tips that enhance the jackhammer effect.”

Cavitation is clearly seen at the tip in the top image, but it is almost completely absent from the torsional tip.

In his study, he concluded:

• Phaco was performed as efficiently under normal conditions as when cavitation was surpressed.
• Cavitation plays no contributory role in lens emulsification, supporting the finding that the jackhammer effect “is the primary source responsible for disrupting lens material.”
• Showed that torsional phacoemulsification reduces cavitation which decreases the risk of free radical formation.

Unless specifically noted, all comparisons herein relate to previous Alcon products and designs.