title: Pulsed electron avalanche knife (PEAK-fc) for dissection of retinal tissue.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness and precision of tractionless retinal tissue dissection by the advanced version of the pulsed electron avalanche knife for fine cutting (PEAK-fc; Carl Zeiss Meditec, Jena, Germany).
  
  
  METHODS
  Porcine retina (in vivo) and human retina (in vitro) were incised with the PEAK-fc using various pulse parameters. The globes were then processed for light microscopy. Evaluation of all specimens focused on depth of the retinal cuts and on the degree of collateral damage.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Retinal cuts performed both in vivo on porcine eyes and on human donor eyes showed very sharp edges with only little collateral damage. With probes of 600 mum in length, the optimal pulse parameters for precise and reproducible cutting of the retina were an amplitude of 350 to 380 V, a repetition rate of 300 Hz, and 30 "minipulses" per pulse of 100-microsecond duration. With increasing voltage, cuts also affected the retinal pigment epithelium and the choroid, followed by intravitreal bleeding during in vivo application.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We demonstrated that PEAK-fc is capable of precisely cutting retinal tissue in vivo and in vitro using optimal pulse parameters. Further in vivo studies will be necessary to determine the efficacy of this new tractionless cutting device in vitreoretinal surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Siegfried G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Priglinger
authors.forename: Christos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Haritoglou
authors.forename: Daniel V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Palanker
authors.forename: Claudia S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Alge
authors.forename: Arnd
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gandorfer
authors.forename: Anselm
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kampik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D042282:Microdissection / Q000295:instrumentation; D008875:Middle Aged; D023421:Models, Animal; D013508:Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012160:Retina / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013552:Swine; D014019:Tissue Donors