Intelligent contact lens for continuous noninvasive monitoring of intraocular pressure

Through the combination of the hydrogel contact part and the diffraction grating film sensing part, continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring of smart contact lenses is achieved, which solves the problem that traditional equipment cannot achieve continuous monitoring, improves the sensitivity and comfort of monitoring, and reduces manufacturing costs.

CN120360489APending Publication Date: 2025-07-25ANHUI MEDICAL UNIV
View PDF 0 Cites 0 Cited by

Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510445681.0
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Applications(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-04-10
Publication Date
2025-07-25

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing intraocular pressure monitoring devices cannot achieve continuous non-invasive monitoring, and long-term wear of traditional wearable devices may cause damage to the cornea, affecting comfort and practicality.

Method used

The contact part made of hydrogel is combined with the grating film sensing part based on the diffraction grating. The corneal pressure is collected through the microfluidic structure and amplified deformation. The color change of the grating film can realize real-time monitoring of intraocular pressure, simplifying the sensor structure and reducing costs.

Benefits of technology

Continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring is achieved, which improves the sensitivity and comfort of monitoring, reduces manufacturing costs, and ensures high biocompatibility.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

Smart Images

  • Figure CN120360489A_ABST
    Figure CN120360489A_ABST
Patent Text Reader

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of intraocular pressure monitoring, in particular to an intelligent contact lens for continuous noninvasive monitoring of intraocular pressure, which comprises a contact part in contact with eyes, the contact part is made of hydrogel, and a microfluidic structure capable of amplifying cornea deformation quantity is arranged in the contact part and used for collecting cornea pressure of the eyes and amplifying the cornea deformation quantity; the sensing part is gathered on the contact part and is in contact with the micro-fluidic structure, the sensing part is a grating film based on a diffraction grating, the grating film is displaced and changed in color after being deformed by cornea through the micro-fluidic structure, and continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure is achieved by monitoring the changed color of the grating film in real time. According to the intraocular pressure sensor, the change of the grating film sensing part is increased, so that the intraocular pressure-color-digital conversion is formed, the intraocular pressure is monitored in real time, the structure of the sensor is simplified, the manufacturing cost is reduced, and under the advantages of high biocompatibility, the safety and comfort of the intraocular pressure sensor are guaranteed, and the intraocular pressure sensor has high sensitivity and biocompatibility and can realize continuous noninvasive intraocular pressure monitoring.
Need to check novelty before this filing date? Find Prior Art

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of intraocular pressure monitoring, and specifically to an intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure. Background Art

[0002] Glaucoma, as the second leading cause of blindness globally, usually leads to irreversible blindness. However, due to the slow initial symptoms of glaucoma, early diagnosis and treatment remain a major challenge. Therefore, it is important to detect glaucoma in a timely manner and take preventive measures. In this regard, an increase in intraocular pressure is generally considered to be the main manifestation of glaucoma, and continuous monitoring and timely treatment will reduce the risk of developing glaucoma. Although there are various types of tonometers for intraocular pressure monitoring in clinical practice, such as Goldmann tonometer, rebound tonometer, dynamic contour tonometer, etc., these tonometers can only measure a single result and cannot monitor the fluctuations of intraocular pressure in real time. In addition, due to the influence of posture changes and circadian rhythm, it is difficult to obtain an accurate intraocular pressure value during the visit, making it difficult to formulate an appropriate treatment plan. The bottleneck causing the above challenges lies in how to achieve continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure.

[0003] In order to non-invasively monitor the dynamic changes of intraocular pressure, wearable intelligent intraocular pressure sensors have emerged. By integrating various electronic sensors, microprocessors and display components to continuously and non-invasively monitor intraocular pressure, it can effectively prevent and treat eye diseases. For example, by combining a contact lens with an inductor-capacitor-resistor (LCR) resonator, it can effectively solve the continuous monitoring of intraocular pressure at night and has practical application potential. In addition, with the rapid development of materials science, the 2D material graphene has also been applied to intraocular pressure sensors. By combining it with an external circuit, it can improve the accuracy and sensitivity of intraocular pressure monitoring. However, since these monitoring methods require additional power sources and wire connections, long-term wearing may cause damage to the cornea and also pose challenges to the comfort and practicality during continuous intraocular pressure monitoring. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention proposes an intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure.

[0005] The technical problems to be solved by the present invention are realized by the following technical solutions:

[0006] An intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure, comprising:

[0007] A contact part that contacts the eye, the contact part is made of hydrogel, and a microfluidic structure capable of amplifying the corneal deformation amount is arranged inside the contact part for collecting the corneal pressure of the eye and amplifying the corneal deformation amount;

[0008] A sensing part that aggregates on the contact part and contacts the microfluidic structure. The sensing part is a grating film based on a diffraction grating. The grating film is displaced and changes color after being deformed by the cornea through the microfluidic structure. Continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure is achieved by real-time monitoring of the changing color of the grating film.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the contact part includes an intelligent contact lens bottom layer film and an intelligent contact lens top layer film in a ring structure. The microfluidic structure is arranged on the intelligent contact lens bottom layer film, and the microfluidic structure is filled with high-viscosity silicone oil.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the thickness of the intelligent contact lens bottom layer film and the intelligent contact lens top layer film is 0.4 mm, and the diameter is 14 mm.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, a number of outer slots with the same size are arranged at the same outer edge on the intelligent contact lens bottom layer film and the intelligent contact lens top layer film.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the length of a number of outer slots is 3 mm and the width is 2 mm.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, a number of hollow structures with the same size are arranged at the same surface position on the intelligent contact lens bottom layer film and the intelligent contact lens top layer film.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, a number of hollow structures are in an arc structure and the width is 2 mm.

[0015] As a further improvement of the present invention, the microfluidic structure is composed of three connected cylindrical chambers. The diameters of the three cylindrical chambers are 2 mm and the height is 0.2 mm.

[0016] As a further improvement of the present invention, a polymerization through hole is arranged on the intelligent contact lens top layer film. The polymerization through hole is located at the position corresponding to the middle cylindrical chamber, and the grating film is polymerized in the polymerization through hole.

[0017] As a further improvement of the present invention, the diameter of the polymerization through hole is 1.5 mm.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0019] The present invention provides an intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring. Through a strategy of synergistically combining a hydrogel contact part with a microfluidic structure and a grating film sensing part based on a diffraction grating, the intraocular pressure is collected through the microfluidic structure, and the corneal deformation amount is amplified, increasing the change of the grating film sensing part, thereby forming a conversion among intraocular pressure - color - number to achieve the purpose of real-time intraocular pressure monitoring. Compared with traditional intelligent contact lenses composed of electronic components, the present invention simplifies the structure of the sensor, reduces the manufacturing cost, and at the same time, under the advantage of high biocompatibility, its safety and comfort are guaranteed. It has high sensitivity and biocompatibility and can achieve continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0020] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments:

[0021] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the bottom layer film structure of the intelligent contact lens in the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the microfluidic structure in the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the top layer film structure of the intelligent contact lens in the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a bar chart of the ab value change range when measuring starts from different colors;

[0026] Figure 6 It is a physical diagram of the color change of the present invention under 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg;

[0027] Figure 7 It is a model diagram of in vitro monitoring using an ex vivo porcine eye;

[0028] Figure 8 It is a physical diagram of the model of in vitro monitoring using an ex vivo porcine eye;

[0029] Figure 9 It is a linear relationship diagram of the intraocular pressure value and the ab value under 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg in Example 1;

[0030] Figure 10 It is a linear relationship diagram of the intraocular pressure value and the G value under 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg in Example 2.

[0031] In the figure: 1. Bottom layer film of the intelligent contact lens; 2. Hollow channel; 3. Outer groove; 3-1. Hollow structure; 4. Microfluidic structure; 4-1. Cylindrical chamber; 5. High-viscosity silicone oil; 6. Top layer film of the intelligent contact lens; 6-1. Polymerization through-hole; 7. Grating film. Detailed implementation mode

[0032] In order to make the technical means, creative features, achieved purposes and effects of the present invention easy to understand, the present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0033] Embodiment 1

[0034] As Figures 1 to 4 shown, the intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring mainly includes a contact part and a sensing part.

[0035] Among them, the contact part is in direct contact with the human eye, mainly playing the role of collecting corneal pressure and amplifying the corneal deformation amount. The main part of the contact part uses a double-network (P-DN) hydrogel crosslinked by polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and acrylamide (AM) as the bio-ink for 3D printing, and is manufactured by 3D printing, which has the advantages of mild production, low cost, and excellent biocompatibility.

[0036] Furthermore, the contact part includes a bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens, high-viscosity silicone oil 5, and a top layer film 6 of the intelligent contact lens. Considering that the intelligent contact lens needs to minimize the blockage of the eye's field of view as much as possible, the middle of the bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens and the top layer film 6 of the intelligent contact lens is a hollow design, and a hollow channel 2 is provided. The hollow channel 2 is circular with a diameter of 9 mm.

[0037] The bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens is circular with a thickness of 0.4 mm and a diameter of 14 mm. Four equally spaced circumferentially distributed outer grooves 3 are provided at the outer edge of the bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens. Each outer groove 3 has a length of 3 mm and a width of 2 mm. Three hollow structures 3-1 are provided on the surface of the bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens. The hollow structures 3-1 are in an arc structure with an arc width of 2 mm. The above-mentioned outer grooves 3 and hollow structures 3-1 both serve to reduce the field of view blockage and improve the fitting of the intelligent contact lens to the eyeball cornea.

[0038] In addition, a microfluidic structure 4 is provided on the bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens, and the high-viscosity silicone oil 5 is filled in the microfluidic structure 4 for collecting corneal pressure and amplifying the corneal deformation amount. Specifically, the microfluidic structure 4 is composed of three interconnected cylindrical chambers 4-1. The diameters of the three cylindrical chambers 4-1 are 2 mm and the height is 0.2 mm.

[0039] The top layer film 6 of the intelligent contact lens is also circular with a thickness of 0.4 mm and a diameter of 14 mm. At the same position as the bottom layer film 1 of the intelligent contact lens, four outer slots 3 of the same size and three hollow structures 3-1 of the same size are also provided. In addition, a polymerization through hole 6-1 is designed on the top layer film 6 of the intelligent contact lens at the position corresponding to the middle cylindrical chamber 4-1. The diameter of the polymerization through hole 6-1 is 1.5 mm. The sensing part is polymerized in the polymerization through hole 6-1.

[0040] In this embodiment, the sensing part is a grating film 7 based on a diffraction grating. The grating film 7 can capture different color changes at different angles. When the intraocular pressure of the human eye increases, the corneal surface will deform, causing the cylindrical chamber 4-1 on the microfluidic structure 4 to deform upward under pressure. According to Pascal's principle, the liquid in a closed space is not compressed, so that the highly viscous silicone oil 5 flows, converges from the cylindrical chamber 4-1 to the middle, and finally converges to the polymerization through hole 6-1, causing the grating film 7 covering the polymerization through hole 6-1 to displace and generate an angular change, thereby obtaining different color changes. Thus, the intraocular pressure value is converted into an analyzable color, and then the color is analyzed in the Lab color space to obtain the linear relationship between the intraocular pressure value and the ab value. Therefore, by continuously monitoring the color change of the grating film 7 in real time, the intraocular pressure can be continuously and non-invasively monitored.

[0041] Furthermore, through experiments, it is obtained that when the color of the grating film 7 is red initially, its monitoring sensitivity is the highest and the monitoring range is the widest. When the intraocular pressure value gradually increases from 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg, the color of the grating film 7 gradually changes from red to yellow. By using a PS color picker to analyze the Lab values of different colors, after experiments, it is obtained that when the intraocular pressure value increases, the a value increases linearly and the b value decreases linearly.

[0042] The specific experimental process is as follows:

[0043] First, measurements are started from seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple. Different color changes are obtained during the same intraocular pressure value change process and their Lab values are analyzed to establish the linear relationship between different intraocular pressures and the ab values. As Figure 5 shown, when the intraocular pressure value gradually increases from 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg, starting from red, the change range of its ab value is the largest, indicating that its sensitivity is also higher.

[0044] Secondly, as Figure 6 shown, this is the physical diagram of the color change of the present invention from 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg. The color of the grating film 7 gradually changes from the initial color red to yellow.

[0045] Next, since the biomechanical properties of porcine eyes are similar to those of human eyes, ex vivo porcine eyes are used to evaluate the performance of the grating film 7, such as Figure 7 As shown, it is a diagram of the constructed pressure-controlled ex vivo porcine eye platform model. The ex vivo porcine eye with the smart contact lens attached is vertically fixed, and one end of the syringe pump is inserted into the porcine eyeball. The internal pressure of the eyeball is controlled by injecting and sucking out deionized water, and then calibrated with an iCare IC100 rebound tonometer. After determining the specific intraocular pressure value, the color at this moment is recorded with a camera, such as Figure 8 As shown, it shows the specific experimental device.

[0046] Through the above experimental device, the colors of the grating film 7 are obtained under pressures from 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg as Figure 6 shown in, and through the ab value analysis of the colors, and then corresponding them one by one with the intraocular pressure values, a linear relationship is obtained as Figure 9 shown. When the intraocular pressure value increases, the a value increases linearly and the b value decreases linearly.

[0047] Working principle and usage process of the present invention:

[0048] During use, the smart contact lens is directly worn on the human cornea, and a miniature binocular camera is fixed externally. By continuously monitoring the color change on the grating film 7, continuous non-invasive monitoring of the intraocular pressure can be achieved.

[0049] Example 2

[0050] The difference from Example 1 is that for the different color changes obtained for the grating film 7, RGB value analysis is performed, such as Figure 6 shown, where the color change range is from red to yellow. When performing RGB value analysis on it, the R value and the B value do not change. Therefore, a linear relationship between the intraocular pressure value and the G value is established as Figure 10 shown. When calculating the change in the G value of the smart contact lens when changing from 0 mmHg to 50 mmHg, the change amount is 175, and its sensitivity is 2.5% / mmHg.

[0051] The above shows and describes the basic principles, main features and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited by the above embodiments. What is described in the above embodiments and the specification is only the principle of the present invention. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, the present invention will have various changes and improvements, and these changes and improvements all fall within the scope of the present invention claimed. The scope of protection claimed by the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. An intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring, characterized in that: Comprising: A contact portion that contacts the eye, the contact portion is made of hydrogel, and a microfluidic structure (4) capable of amplifying the corneal deformation amount is arranged inside the contact portion for collecting the eye corneal pressure and amplifying the corneal deformation amount; A sensing portion polymerized on the contact portion and in contact with the microfluidic structure (4), the sensing portion is a grating film (7) based on a diffraction grating, and the grating film (7) is displaced and changes color after being deformed by the microfluidic structure (4) due to corneal deformation. Continuous non-invasive monitoring of intraocular pressure is achieved by real-time monitoring of the changing color of the grating film (7).

2. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 1, characterized in that: The contact portion includes an intelligent contact lens bottom film (1) and an intelligent contact lens top film (6) in a ring structure, the microfluidic structure (4) is arranged on the intelligent contact lens bottom film (1), and a high-viscosity silicone oil (5) is filled in the microfluidic structure (4).

3. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 2, characterized in that: The thickness of the intelligent contact lens bottom film (1) and the intelligent contact lens top film (6) is 0.4 mm, and the diameter is 14 mm.

4. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 2, characterized in that: A number of outer slots (3) of the same size are arranged at the same outer edge on the intelligent contact lens bottom film (1) and the intelligent contact lens top film (6).

5. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 4, characterized in that: The length of the number of outer slots (3) is 3 mm and the width is 2 mm.

6. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 2, characterized in that: A number of hollow structures (3-1) of the same size are arranged at the same surface position on the intelligent contact lens bottom film (1) and the intelligent contact lens top film (6).

7. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 6, characterized in that: The number of hollow structures (3-1) is in an arc structure and the width is 2 mm.

8. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 2, characterized in that: The microfluidic structure (4) is composed of three connected cylindrical chambers (4-1), and the diameter of the three cylindrical chambers (4-1) is 2 mm and the height is 0.2 mm.

9. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 8, characterized in that: A polymerization through hole (6-1) is arranged on the intelligent contact lens top film (6), the polymerization through hole (6-1) is located at the position corresponding to the middle cylindrical chamber (4-1), and the grating film (7) is polymerized in the polymerization through hole (6-1).

10. The intelligent contact lens for continuous non-invasive intraocular pressure monitoring according to claim 9, characterized in that: The diameter of the polymerization through hole (6-1) is 1.5 mm.