Purpose
The aim of this study was to determine optimal bottle height, vacuum, aspiration rate, and power settings of the Oertli CataRhex 3
®
phacoemulsification machine.
Methods
Porcine lens nuclei were hardened with formalin and cut into 2.0 mm cubes. Lens cubes were emulsified using the easyTip
®
2.2 mm at 30°. Fragment removal time (efficiency) and fragment bounces off the tip (chatter) were measured. Settings tested included bottle height of 60, 80, 100 and 120 cm; aspiration rate of 40, 45, and 50 mL/min; vacuum of 400, 500, and 600 mmHg; and power of 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100%.
Results
Efficiency and chatter increased in a linear fashion with increasing vacuum to 600 mmHg (
P
=0.017,
P
=0.046, respectively). The most efficient aspiration rate was 50 mL/min, although this finding lacked statistical significance (
P
=0.66). Increasing power increased efficiency up to 80% without increasing chatter (
P
=0.042,
P
=0.71, respectively). Compared to all other power settings, chatter was increased at 100% (
P
=0.014).
Conclusion
The most efficient machine settings were vacuum at 600 mmHg, aspiration rate at 50 mL/min, and power at 80%.