A corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system

Abstract

A corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system comprises a dual-stable pressure gas supply subsystem, a multi-jet excitation subsystem and a control unit. The dual-stable pressure gas supply subsystem provides two paths of stable compressed gas with independent adjustable pressure and fast switching. The multi-jet excitation subsystem comprises a ring-shaped main body with a central through hole, a plurality of nozzles arranged in the circumferential direction, an axial adjustment mechanism and a circumferential gating mechanism, and has a common spherical center decoupling structure, so that the moving track of each nozzle changes when the jet position changes, and the jet distance remains constant around a common spherical center. The control unit controls the dual-stable pressure gas supply subsystem to output selected pressure gas and apply local air pulse excitation to the corresponding nozzle through the circumferential gating mechanism. The system realizes the electrical control and automation of local excitation of the whole cornea, supports single-point, multi-point parallel and double excitation and other modes, and provides a complete hardware solution for corneal biomechanical parameter spatial distribution measurement.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to ophthalmic medical device technology, and in particular to a corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system. Background Technology

[0002] Air pulse-based corneal biomechanical parameter measurement technology is currently the core method for in vivo, non-invasive assessment of corneal biomechanical properties. Its core principle involves firing a standardized microsecond-level air pulse towards the center of the cornea, inducing instantaneous dynamic deformation. An integrated high-speed monitoring system (such as laser, Scheimpflug camera, OCT, etc.) records the entire process from corneal concavity, planarization, to rebound. By analyzing key dynamic characteristics during the deformation process (such as the time difference between two planarizations, deformation velocity, and maximum concavity depth), this technology can quantify and extract core parameters reflecting the viscoelastic nature of the cornea, such as corneal hysteresis (CH) and corneal resistance factor (CRF), or further combine with artificial intelligence algorithms to derive more powerful comprehensive diagnostic indices. This technology successfully brings the cornea from static geometric structural analysis into the era of dynamic functional biomechanical assessment, significantly improving the accuracy of intraocular pressure measurement in glaucoma diagnosis and treatment, and providing crucial biomechanical evidence for the ultra-early screening of ectopic diseases such as keratoconus.

[0003] In recent years, with the increasing demand for precision ophthalmic diagnosis and treatment, corneal biomechanical parameter measurement technology, as a key bridge connecting corneal structure and function, has become increasingly important. Research on corneal mechanical properties and the development of related measurement equipment have gradually become cutting-edge hot topics in ophthalmic engineering. Current in vivo corneal biomechanical measurement technologies are mainly divided into two categories: measurements based on quasi-static principles and measurements based on dynamic excitation. Most of these measurements, especially those using existing clinical corneal biomechanical measurement equipment, only provide a general mechanical index describing the cornea and cannot obtain local mechanical parameters. Therefore, there is still room for improvement in the specificity and resolution for screening early diseases such as keratoconus. Some research teams and clinical institutions have introduced the Oral Response Analyzer (ORA), which, by analyzing the two corneal flattening processes under air pulse stimulation, obtained two globally pioneering commercially available biomechanical parameters: corneal hysteresis (CH) and corneal resistance factor (CRF). Other studies have utilized logistic regression and dynamic response parameters of the cornea's stromal oscillation (ST) to generate richer parameters such as the Comprehensive Biomechanical Index (CBI). Still other studies have pioneered the application of Brillouin optical microscopy to the cornea, achieving micrometer-level resolution measurement of local elastic modulus. These technologies and devices can assess corneal mechanical properties from different dimensions. Although corneal mechanical parameter measurement devices such as the Brillouin technique exist, the mainstream clinical measurement method remains the measurement of corneal biomechanical response parameters based on air pulse excitation. The main problem is that existing clinical equipment can only provide overall corneal parameters and cannot measure local areas to obtain a corneal mechanical distribution map. The core issue is the lack of a convenient and usable local pulse adjustment device.

[0004] In existing technologies, corneal air pulse excitation devices are generally limited to applying a single pulse excitation to a specific location, without detailed adjustments to the pulse excitation or a dedicated air pulse excitation decoupling adjustment device. Various excitation parameters are fixed or coupled together, making it impossible to independently control any single parameter. The adjustment process is cumbersome and unintuitive, and it is difficult to achieve local excitation to obtain an image of the entire cornea's mechanical parameters. Patent application number 202610316658.6 proposes a common-center decoupling excitation device for local measurement of corneal mechanical parameters. This device employs a common-center design, using a micro-motion platform to achieve non-contact cross-laser alignment between the virtual center and the corneal center. The decoupling adjustment mechanism includes both inner-rail and outer-rail structures. The air jet excitation device is mounted on a radially movable fixed base, independently controlling the jet distance through radial translation, the jet angle through arc movement along the slide rail, and the jet position through rotation around the Z-axis. Combined with an external high-speed imaging system, it can traverse multiple points on the corneal surface for local excitation to generate an image of the distribution of mechanical parameters. This device enables independent adjustment of the jet angle, distance, and position, offering advantages such as parameter decoupling, non-contact safety, and ease of operation. It provides a hardware foundation for in vivo, non-invasive, high-resolution spatial distribution measurement of corneal biomechanical parameters. However, the device still has the following shortcomings: its concentric slide rail and radial translation mechanism require precision machining and assembly, resulting in high costs; the overall structure is compact, and while manual adjustment of the sliding degree of freedom along the slide rail is possible, electronic control is difficult and challenging, hindering product deployment; the device is only an independent local excitation device and lacks a practically applicable gas source; the excitation mode is limited, only one point and one operating condition can be excited at a time, preventing simultaneous multi-point excitation; furthermore, although the design considered global corneal excitation, in practical applications, due to the need for imaging the corneal response, the device cannot achieve a horizontal state (otherwise it would interfere with the imaging optical path), nor can it cross horizontal positions. Therefore, it can only achieve local excitation of the lower half of the cornea, limiting the measurement range and preventing the acquisition of a complete corneal biomechanical parameter distribution map.

[0005] It should be noted that the information disclosed in the background section above is only for understanding the background of this application, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The main objective of this invention is to overcome the deficiencies in the aforementioned background technology and provide a corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: A corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system, comprising: The dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem is used to provide two independent, adjustable, and rapidly switchable stable compressed gas streams. A multi-nozzle excitation subsystem includes an annular body with a central through-hole, a plurality of nozzles arranged circumferentially along the annular body, an axial adjustment mechanism for driving the annular body to move along its own axial direction, and a circumferential selection mechanism for selectively guiding compressed gas to one or more of the nozzles. The control unit is communicatively connected to the dual-pressure-stabilized air supply subsystem and the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The gas output terminal of the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem is connected to the gas input terminal of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The multi-nozzle excitation subsystem has a common-center decoupling structure, which ensures that the movement trajectory of each nozzle when changing its jet position revolves around a common center, so as to keep the jet distance from the nozzle end face to the corneal surface basically constant. The control unit controls the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem to output gas at a selected pressure, and controls the circumferential gating mechanism to select the corresponding nozzle, so that the selected gas is ejected from the corresponding nozzle to apply local air pulse excitation to the corneal surface.

[0008] The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system proposed in this invention effectively solves the problems of difficult excitation parameter adjustment, low degree of electronic control, limited excitation range, and susceptibility to interference in the imaging optical path in existing corneal air pulse excitation devices by organically combining an innovative dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem and an electronically controlled multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The system adopts a hollow ring-shaped main structure with multiple nozzles arranged circumferentially. The central through-hole provides an unobstructed optical path for imaging devices such as OCT and high-speed cameras, thereby achieving local excitation coverage of the entire cornea while avoiding interference with the imaging optical path. This overcomes the limitation of existing single-nozzle concentric decoupling devices, which can only excite the lower half of the cornea due to horizontal interference in the optical path. This results in a more complete and accurate corneal biomechanical parameter distribution map, and higher diagnostic value for diseases such as keratoconus.

[0009] The core of this invention lies in achieving independent adjustment of excitation parameters and unified excitation consistency through a common-center decoupling structure. Specifically, the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem is equipped with a common-center decoupling structure, which ensures that the movement trajectory of each nozzle when changing its jet position revolves around a common center, thereby maintaining a basically constant jet distance from the nozzle end face to the corneal surface, achieving approximate decoupling between jet position and jet distance. The axial adjustment mechanism drives the annular body to move along its own axial direction, allowing for independent and precise adjustment of the jet distance. The circumferential selection mechanism selectively guides compressed gas to one or more nozzles, enabling electronically controlled selection of the circumferential position of the excitation point while keeping the entire device stationary, avoiding complex multi-axis robotic arms or overall rotating structures. The optional radial adjustment mechanism synchronously drives each jet slider to move along a radial groove via a radial drive disk, further expanding the excitation coverage range of the nozzles in the corneal radius direction. All of the above adjustment methods are electrically driven, and all excitation parameters (jet position, jet distance) can be uniformly controlled by the control unit. The sequence scanning of preset points can be completed with one click. Operators do not need complicated mechanical adjustments, which greatly reduces the threshold for use, shortens the time of a single examination, and significantly improves clinical applicability.

[0010] Regarding gas supply assurance, this invention integrates a dual-pressure-stabilized gas supply subsystem. This system comprises two parallel and independent gas pressure closed-loop control loops. Each loop forms a closed-loop feedback control system via an electronically controlled pressure regulating valve, a gas storage tank, and a pressure transmitter. This system can pre-stabilize two gases at different pressures and rapidly switch between them within milliseconds via a pressure-switching solenoid valve. This design not only ensures the repeatability and consistency of the excitation pressure, avoiding measurement errors caused by gas supply fluctuations, but also provides a reliable gas supply guarantee for dual-excitation comparative measurements at the same corneal site. By applying low-pressure and high-pressure pulses sequentially to the same location and comparing their deformation responses, more accurate nonlinear mechanical parameters unaffected by individual differences can be derived, significantly outperforming single-pressure excitation methods.

[0011] Regarding excitation modes, this invention, based on a multi-nozzle and gas selection disc structural design, breaks through the limitation of existing technologies that can only perform single-point sequential excitation, supporting a variety of flexible excitation modes: the single-point excitation mode can accurately select any circumferential position; the multi-point parallel excitation mode can simultaneously select multiple spatially non-interfering nozzles to apply excitation to multiple regions of the cornea at the same time, which can be used to study the regional synergy of corneal mechanical response or to achieve high-throughput measurement; the global sequential scanning mode automatically traverses the preset combination of circumferential angle and radial distance through the control unit, performs single or dual excitation measurement at each point, and synchronously triggers the external imaging system to collect corneal deformation response data under each excitation, ultimately generating a two-dimensional color map or mechanical image reflecting the spatial distribution of corneal biomechanical characteristics, realizing the leap from overall single-point parameters to spatial distribution map.

[0012] Furthermore, in terms of structural engineering, this invention employs a framework of circumferentially fixed multi-nozzle combined with axial linear motion and a rotating air selection disc. All movements are simple rotational or linear motions, simplifying motor layout and resulting in a compact overall structure. This avoids the challenges of existing concentric slide rail mechanisms, which require extremely high machining precision and involve complex motion coupling, significantly reducing manufacturing difficulty and cost, and facilitating productization and commercialization. The entire measurement process utilizes air pulse excitation and non-contact optical positioning, completely avoiding the corneal damage and infection risks that may arise from contact measurements. Patients experience a positive outcome, and the examination process is safe and non-invasive.

[0013] In summary, this invention, through the coordinated operation of the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem, the electronically controlled multi-nozzle excitation subsystem, and the control unit, has achieved significant improvements in excitation range, operational efficiency, measurement accuracy, mode flexibility, and product feasibility. It provides a complete hardware platform and system solution for in vivo, non-invasive, high-resolution spatial distribution measurement of corneal biomechanical properties, and powerfully promotes the technological evolution of corneal biomechanical assessment from overall parameters to local quantification, from manual operation to electronic automation, and from limited area to full coverage.

[0014] Other beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present invention will be further described below. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the pneumatic and electrical control circuits of a dual-pressure stabilization system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2A This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the dual voltage regulator system structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2B This is a three-dimensional assembly schematic diagram of the dual voltage regulator system according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3A This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the core structure of the multi-nozzle global excitation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3B for Figure 3A The corresponding top view; Figure 3C for Figure 3B A cross-sectional view along line AA; Figure 4A This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a multi-nozzle global excitation device with all eight nozzles according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4B for Figure 4A A cross-sectional schematic diagram of the multi-nozzle global excitation device shown. Figure 5A This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a multi-nozzle global excitation device integrating an axial hollow screw and a radial groove, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5B for Figure 5AThe corresponding top view; Figure 5C for Figure 5B A cross-sectional view along line AA; Figure 6A This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the complete multi-nozzle global excitation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6B for Figure 6A The corresponding top view; Figure 6C for Figure 6B Cross section along line AA Figure 6D for Figure 6C Corresponding 3D effect diagram; Figure 7 This is a top view schematic diagram of the radial movement of the multi-nozzle global excitation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 This is a rendering of a three-dimensional model of the multi-nozzle global excitation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 9 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the concentric multi-nozzle global excitation device according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10A This is a schematic diagram of a single-point gas selection plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10B This is a schematic diagram of the opposing dual-point air selection disc according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 10C This is a schematic diagram of the multi-mode composite air selection plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 11 This is a block diagram of the overall system structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Among them, 1-intake pipe, 2-intake quick connector, 3-intake chassis, 4-air selection plate, 5-air jet slider, 6-outtake quick connector, 7-nozzle, 8-air selection plate control motor, 9-axial hollow screw motor, 10-radial groove, 11-radial drive plate, 12-radial drive plate control motor.

[0017] 21-Gas filter, 22-Electrically controlled pressure regulating valve, 23-Gas storage tank, 24-Pressure transmitter, 25-Pressure switching solenoid valve, 26-Dual pressure stabilizing device mounting base. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below. It should be emphasized that the following description is merely exemplary and not intended to limit the scope and application of the present invention.

[0019] It should be noted that when a component is referred to as "fixed to" or "set on" another component, it can be directly on or indirectly on that other component. When a component is referred to as "connected to" another component, it can be directly connected to or indirectly connected to that other component. Furthermore, a connection can be used for fixing, coupling, or communication.

[0020] It should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", and "outer" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention.

[0021] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of embodiments of the present invention, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0022] Abbreviations and key terms: Decoupled excitation: Applying air pulse excitation to the cornea requires controlling the jet angle (the angle between the jet axis and the eyeball axis), the jet distance (the distance from the surface of the eyeball), and the jet position. However, these parameters are often coupled together during adjustment (e.g., adjusting the jet position, jet angle, and distance will all change). Decoupled excitation decouples each of these adjustment parameters, allowing them to be controlled independently. This enables intuitive, rapid, and convenient adjustment of the excitation parameters in practical applications.

[0023] Common center of gravity: This is key to achieving decoupled excitation. The cornea can be viewed as an approximate spherical shell (even in diseased corneas, where the shape changes, a center of gravity that is as close as possible can be approximated). This device is a mechanism similar to an amplified spherical hinge; aligning the center of gravity of the cornea with the center of gravity of the device is crucial for achieving decoupled excitation.

[0024] Excitation parameters: These refer to the variable parameters when applying excitation to the cornea, such as the angle of the jet (the angle between the jet axis and the eyeball axis), the distance of the jet (the distance from the surface of the eyeball), and the position of the jet.

[0025] Local stimulation: Current clinical measurement protocols for the cornea stimulate the entire cornea as a whole, obtaining an overall indicator. Local stimulation, on the other hand, divides the cornea into different regions and obtains specific indicators for each region.

[0026] Dual excitation: Applying two air pulses (or other types of excitation) with different pressures to the same location on the cornea, and observing the dynamic response of the cornea under each excitation, and conducting comparative analysis, can yield more accurate corneal mechanical indices (mechanical parameters).

[0027] This invention aims to overcome the problems of existing corneal air pulse excitation devices, such as difficulties in electronic control, limited excitation range, and single gas source mode. It proposes a corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system that integrates a dual-pressure stabilized gas supply subsystem and an electronically controlled multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. This system achieves global local excitation and independent parameter adjustment through a hollow annular multi-nozzle architecture combined with a concentric decoupling structure. Combined with dual-loop closed-loop stabilized gas supply, it achieves highly consistent dual excitation and rapid switching. Thus, it provides an electronically controlled, automated hardware platform and system solution with complete coverage and rich excitation modes for the spatial distribution measurement of corneal biomechanical parameters.

[0028] This invention provides a corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system, such as... Figure 11 As shown, it includes a dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem, a multi-nozzle excitation subsystem, and a control unit. The dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem provides two independently adjustable and rapidly switchable stable compressed gas streams. Its gas path and electronic control principle are as follows: Figure 1 As shown. The multi-nozzle excitation subsystem includes an annular body with a central through-hole, a plurality of nozzles 7 arranged circumferentially along the annular body, an axial adjustment mechanism for driving the annular body to move along its own axial direction, and a circumferential selection mechanism for selectively guiding compressed gas to one or more of the nozzles 7. The control unit is communicatively connected to the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem and the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The gas output terminal of the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem is connected to the gas input terminal of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem, and the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem has a concentric decoupling structure (see...). Figure 9 The common-center decoupling structure ensures that the movement trajectory of each nozzle 7 when changing its jet position revolves around a common center, so as to keep the jet distance from the nozzle 7 end face to the corneal surface basically constant. The control unit controls the output of gas at a selected pressure by controlling the dual-pressure gas supply subsystem, and controls the circumferential selection mechanism to select the corresponding nozzle 7, so that the selected gas is ejected from the corresponding nozzle 7 to apply local air pulse excitation to the corneal surface.

[0029] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2A and Figure 2BAs shown, the dual-pressure-stabilized gas supply subsystem includes two parallel and independent gas pressure closed-loop control loops and a pressure switching solenoid valve 25. Each loop includes an electrically controlled pressure regulating valve 22, a gas storage tank 23, and a pressure transmitter 24 connected in sequence. The pressure transmitter 24 is used to monitor the gas pressure in the gas storage tank 23 in real time and feed it back to the control unit to form a closed-loop control. The output terminals of the two loops are respectively connected to the input terminals of the pressure switching solenoid valve 25. The output terminal of the pressure switching solenoid valve 25 is connected to the gas input terminal of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The pressure switching solenoid valve 25 is controlled by the control unit to selectively output gas from either loop to the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem.

[0030] In some embodiments, such as Figures 3A to 3C As shown, the annular body of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem includes an air intake chassis 3 and an air selection disk 4 coaxially stacked. The air intake chassis 3 is provided with an annular air groove to form a common air chamber. The air selection disk 4 is provided with at least one air selection hole, which communicates with the corresponding nozzle 7. The circumferential selection mechanism includes an air selection disk control motor 8 that drives the air selection disk 4 to rotate relative to the air intake chassis 3. By rotating, the air selection hole selectively communicates with the common air chamber, thereby connecting the corresponding nozzle 7.

[0031] In some embodiments, such as Figures 10A to 10C As shown, the gas selection plate 4 has multiple gas selection holes, which are configured to simultaneously select two or more nozzles 7 to achieve parallel excitation of multiple sites on the corneal surface. Specifically, as... Figure 10C As shown, the gas selection plate integrates multiple gas selection modes, including a single-point mode, an opposing two-point mode, an adjacent two-point mode, and a uniformly distributed four-point mode. Specifically, the single-point mode has a single gas selection hole (i.e., single-point gas selection hole 109) for selecting a single nozzle in the circumferential direction; the opposing two-point mode has two gas selection holes arranged at 180° intervals (i.e., opposing two-point gas selection hole 107 and opposing two-point gas selection hole 108, for simultaneously selecting two opposing nozzles); the adjacent two-point mode has two adjacent gas selection holes (i.e., adjacent two-point gas selection hole 105 and adjacent two-point gas selection hole 106). Air vent 106 is used to simultaneously select two adjacent nozzles; the uniformly distributed four-point mode has four air selection vents arranged at 90° intervals (i.e., air selection vent 101, air selection vent 102, air selection vent 103, and air selection vent 104, used to simultaneously select four uniformly distributed nozzles). By rotating the air selection disc, the air selection vents of different modes can be selectively connected to the common air chamber, thereby switching different excitation modes.

[0032] In some embodiments, such as Figures 5A to 5C As shown, the axial adjustment mechanism is a hollow linear actuator with a central through hole (e.g., Figures 5A to 6D The axial hollow lead screw motor 9 shown in the figure has its moving part fixedly connected to the annular body. The axis of the hollow linear actuator is coaxial with the axis of the annular body and the central through hole, so as to keep the central through hole unobstructed when driving the annular body to move axially.

[0033] In some embodiments, the hollow linear actuator is Figures 5A to 6D The axial hollow lead screw motor 9 or hollow linear motor shown is illustrated.

[0034] In some embodiments, such as Figures 6A to 6D As shown, the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem also includes a radial adjustment mechanism, which is used to synchronously adjust the radial position of each nozzle 7 relative to the center of the annular body.

[0035] In some embodiments, such as Figures 5A to 7 As shown, the radial adjustment mechanism includes multiple radial grooves 10 disposed on the annular body, multiple jet sliders 5 respectively disposed in each radial groove 10 and slidable along it, an annular radial drive disk 11, and a radial drive disk control motor 12 that drives the radial drive disk 11 to rotate. Each nozzle 7 is respectively mounted on the corresponding jet slider 5; the annular radial drive disk 11 and each jet slider 5 are coupled through an inclined surface or a spiral groove; when the radial drive disk control motor 12 drives the radial drive disk 11 to rotate, it synchronously drives each jet slider 5 to move along the corresponding radial groove 10, thereby changing the radial position of each nozzle 7.

[0036] In some embodiments, such as Figure 9 As shown, at least part of the mating surface of the annular body of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem is a spherical arc structure. The radius of curvature of the spherical arc structure matches the radius of curvature of the cornea to be tested, so that the axis of each nozzle 7 points to the common center of the spherical arc structure, thereby keeping the distance from the end face of the nozzle 7 to the corneal surface constant when the position of the nozzle 7 is changed.

[0037] In some embodiments, the control unit is further configured to: control the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem to sequentially output gases of different pressures to the same gated nozzle 7, so as to achieve dual-excitation measurement of the same corneal site; control the circumferential gate mechanism and / or radial adjustment mechanism to traverse multiple preset corneal sites, and synchronously trigger an external imaging system (such as via...) Figures 3A to 9 The central through-hole of the annular body (shown in the figure) collects corneal deformation response data under various excitations to generate a spatial distribution map of corneal biomechanical parameters.

[0038] The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system proposed in this invention, through the collaborative design of a hollow annular multi-nozzle electrically controlled gating architecture and a dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem, achieves full-domain local excitation coverage of the cornea and compatibility with unobstructed imaging optical path. At the same time, it ensures high consistency of jet distance during position adjustment through a concentric decoupling structure, and provides a reliable gas source guarantee for high-precision mechanical inversion of dual excitation at the same corneal site with dual-path closed-loop voltage stabilization and millisecond-level switching capability. The entire system adopts fully electronically controlled automated operation, supports multiple excitation modes such as single-point, multi-point parallel, and sequential scanning, and significantly improves the efficiency, accuracy, and clinical applicability of spatial distribution measurement of corneal biomechanical parameters.

[0039] The following further describes the implementation methods and advantages of specific embodiments of the present invention.

[0040] This invention provides a decoupled excitation device for local measurement of corneal mechanical parameters, which enables electronically controlled adjustment of jet excitation parameters. Adjusting the corneal excitation parameters essentially involves adjusting the jet angle (the angle between the jet axis and the eyeball axis), the jet distance (the distance from the nozzle tip to the corneal surface), and the jet position (the excitation point on the corneal surface). Adjusting these parameters requires three degrees of freedom. However, the space in front of the cornea is extremely limited. In actual measurements, in addition to the local jet excitation device, imaging equipment such as high-speed cameras and OCT are needed to record corneal deformation. This makes the implementation of an electronically controlled solution quite difficult—it requires integrating three control motors, and traditional excitation devices struggle to achieve a compact electronically controlled design.

[0041] To address this issue, this embodiment employs a multi-nozzle layout to reduce one circumferential degree of freedom (i.e., rotation about the corneal central axis of symmetry, see [link]). Figures 4A to 4B , Figures 6A to 6D Since local corneal excitation typically does not require numerous measurement points (generally, four points—up, down, left, and right—are sufficient to obtain effective local mechanical information), this embodiment employs eight nozzles 7 arranged circumferentially. During operation, excitation at that circumferential position can be achieved simply by selecting the corresponding nozzle, eliminating the need to drive the entire device to rotate circumferentially, thus saving one degree of freedom. Furthermore, by designing the air selection plate 4, multiple nozzles can be selected simultaneously, enabling excitation of multiple points at once and enriching the excitation modes.

[0042] By reducing this degree of freedom, the electronic control scheme is simplified, and local corneal excitation can be achieved through the following three aspects of control. First, the entire device moves back and forth along the optical axis of the eyeball to adjust the jet distance. This function is driven by an axial hollow screw motor 9; the motor adopts a hollow structure to avoid interference with the optical path of the intermediate imaging device. Second, the selection of the working nozzle is achieved by the gas selection disk 4. By rotating the gas selection disk, one or more of the eight nozzles can be selected (depending on the gas selection hole layout design of the gas selection disk), thereby achieving electronically controlled selection of the circumferential jet position of the cornea. Third, the radial movement of the nozzle is an optional function. Given that eight excitation points are already arranged circumferentially, it can meet most application requirements; if more flexible excitation position adjustment is required, radial displacement can be achieved through the cooperation of the jet slider 5, radial groove 10, radial drive disk 11, and radial drive disk control motor 12. Through the above methods, the electronically controlled adjustment of the jet excitation parameters can be achieved, thereby applying excitation to different parts of the cornea separately and obtaining the corresponding local mechanical parameters, and then generating a mechanical parameter image of the cornea.

[0043] The purpose of stimulating corneal deformation is to observe its dynamic response and analyze its mechanical properties. This observation process requires imaging equipment such as OCT and high-speed cameras. A significant limitation of existing solutions (such as patent application number 202610316658.6) is that they can only stimulate the lower half of the cornea, not the upper half, which would interfere with the imaging optical path. This embodiment employs a hollow ring structure (see...). Figures 4A to 8 This achieves localized excitation coverage of the entire cornea while avoiding interference with the imaging optical path.

[0044] To achieve higher accuracy in solving corneal mechanical parameters, it is necessary to apply different types of excitation (mainly different pressures) to the same cornea and invert the mechanical properties by observing the response differences at the same location under different excitations. To achieve rapid switching between different pressure excitations and maintain a high degree of excitation consistency, this embodiment designs a dual-pressure stabilization system (its gas path and electronic control block diagram are shown in [reference]). Figure 1 This system essentially consists of two independent pressure control loops. Two gas storage tanks pre-store two different gas pressures and maintain stable storage pressure through real-time pressure feedback. When a specific pressure is required, the corresponding gas source can be directly selected via a pressure selection valve.

[0045] Furthermore, to achieve decoupling of excitation parameter adjustment, the device and the cornea must satisfy a concentric relationship, i.e., the virtual center of the device needs to be aligned with the geometric center of the cornea. In existing solutions, the entire device is based on a planar structure (which can be understood as the center of the sphere being located at infinity), making parameter decoupling difficult. Therefore, this embodiment improves the device structure: the mating surfaces of the air intake chassis 3, air selection disk 4, air jet slider 5, radial groove 10, and radial drive disk 11 are changed from planar structures to arc-shaped structures (i.e., part of the spherical shell, see...). Figure 9 By changing only the curvature of the structure while keeping the basic principle unchanged, the device can achieve concentric alignment with the cornea and decoupled adjustment of the excitation parameters.

[0046] like Figures 1 to 9 As shown, this embodiment provides a concentric decoupled measurement scheme and device for local measurement of corneal mechanical parameters. The core of the device is a dual-pressure stabilizing multi-nozzle corneal global excitation device. The device consists of two main parts: a dual-pressure stabilizing pressure device (providing the air pressure source for dual excitation) and a multi-nozzle global excitation device.

[0047] The dual-pressure stabilization system provides two independent, precisely adjustable, and rapidly switchable stable gas sources. It uses two complete closed-loop control circuits—an electronically controlled pressure regulating valve, a gas tank, and a pressure transmitter—to preset and maintain two different gas pressures. When the excitation pressure needs to be switched, a pressure switching solenoid valve quickly selects the corresponding gas path, ensuring high consistency and repeatability of the air pulse pressure applied to the cornea under different excitation modes. This provides a reliable gas source for the accurate inversion of mechanical parameters based on the dual-excitation response.

[0048] The function of the multi-nozzle global excitation device is to achieve automated and repeatable local excitation of any location (the entire corneal surface) without interfering with the central imaging optical path. The device employs a hollow ring structure with an unobstructed imaging channel in the center. Through multiple integrated circumferentially arranged nozzles (eight in this embodiment), combined with axial and radial electronically controlled adjustment mechanisms, one or more selected nozzles can be quickly and accurately positioned to the target excitation location, and the jet distance can be independently controlled, thereby achieving sequential or parallel excitation of single or multiple corneal sites.

[0049] By modifying the structure of the multi-nozzle global excitation device ( Figure 9By replacing key components such as the planar air intake chassis, air selection plate, and slide groove with an arc-shaped (part of the spherical shell) structure that matches the curvature of the cornea, the movement trajectory of the excitation nozzle can be made approximately around the center of the cornea, achieving alignment (common center) between the excitation nozzle and the center of the cornea. On this basis, the adjustment of excitation parameters (jet distance, jet position) can be made independent (decoupling), thereby enabling precise and controllable local excitation of different locations on the corneal surface, laying the hardware foundation for obtaining corneal mechanical parameter distribution maps.

[0050] The specific embodiments include the following components: 1. Dual voltage regulator system The dual-pressure stabilization system is based on the dual-pressure stabilization device mounting base 26. A gas filter 21, an electrically controlled pressure regulating valve 22, a gas storage tank 23, a pressure transmitter 24, and a pressure switching solenoid valve 25 are mounted on the base.

[0051] The system comprises two identical and independent gas paths, each including: a common gas filter 21 for purifying the input gas source; an electrically controlled pressure regulating valve 22 for precisely adjusting and setting the gas path pressure according to control commands; a gas storage tank 23 for storing gas at a stable pressure, serving as a buffer and pressure maintainer; and a pressure transmitter 24 for real-time monitoring of the gas pressure in the storage tank and feeding it back to the controller, forming a closed-loop control. The outputs of both gas paths are connected to a pressure switching solenoid valve 25, which, under the command of an external controller, can quickly select one of the gas sources to output to the subsequent multi-nozzle global excitation device.

[0052] System parameters

[0053] The gas storage tank has a volume of 0.3L and a preset pressure range of low pressure P1=0.2MPa and high pressure P2=0.3MPa. It is configured to be adjustable from 0 to 0.9MPa with an adjustment accuracy of 1kPa, a pressure switching solenoid valve with a switching time in milliseconds (specific range 5-10ms), and a pressure control accuracy (steady-state error range) of 1kPa.

[0054] 2. Multi-nozzle global excitation device

[0055] The device has a hollow ring structure and consists of an air inlet pipe 1, an air inlet quick connector 2, an air inlet chassis 3, an air selection plate 4, an air jet slider 5, an air outlet quick connector 6, a nozzle 7, an air selection plate control motor 8, an axial hollow lead screw motor 9, a radial slide groove 10, a radial drive plate 11, and a radial drive plate control motor 12.

[0056] Hollow annular body: Both the air intake chassis 3 and the air selection plate 4 are annular components with a central opening, and are arranged coaxially. The central through hole provides an unobstructed optical path for external imaging systems (such as OCT and high-speed cameras).

[0057] Axial adjustment mechanism: The entire annular body is connected to the mover of the axial hollow lead screw motor 9. This motor is also a hollow structure and is coaxial with the central through hole of the body. By driving the axial hollow lead screw motor 9, the entire air jet device can be moved back and forth along the optical axis (Z-axis) of the eyeball, used to independently and precisely adjust the distance (i.e., air jet distance) from the end face of all nozzles 7 to the corneal surface. Since both the motor and the body are hollow, this adjustment process will not interfere with the imaging optical path.

[0058] Circumferential selection mechanism: An annular air groove is provided on the intake chassis 3, and the intake pipe 1 is connected to it via the intake quick connector 2 to form a common air chamber. The air selection plate 4 is tightly fitted to the intake chassis 3 and has one or more air selection holes. The air selection plate control motor 8 drives the air selection plate 4 to rotate relative to the intake chassis 3, so that the air selection holes selectively connect with the common air chamber of the intake chassis 3. After each air selection hole, the jet slider 5, the exhaust quick connector 6, and the nozzle 7 are connected in sequence. When a certain air selection hole rotates to the connected position, compressed gas can pass through the passage and be ejected from the corresponding nozzle 7, realizing the selection of the circumferential excitation position.

[0059] Radial adjustment mechanism (optional): To achieve more flexible excitation positioning, this device also integrates a radial adjustment function. Each jet slider 5 is installed in a corresponding radial groove 10. An annular grooved radial drive disk 11 is coupled to all jet sliders 5 through a transmission structure such as an inclined plane or a spiral groove (used in this example). The radial drive disk control motor 12 drives the radial drive disk 11 to rotate, which synchronously drives all jet sliders 5 to move inward or outward along their respective radial grooves 10, thereby independently adjusting the radial position of the nozzle 7 on the corneal surface. If this function is not used, the main circumferential excitation points can be covered by the multiple circumferentially distributed fixed nozzles alone.

[0060] 3. Multi-nozzle global excitation device – variant design

[0061] This variant design is an improvement upon the aforementioned multi-nozzle omnidirectional excitation device. To achieve better decoupling of excitation parameters (especially jet position and jet distance), the mating surfaces of components such as the originally planar air intake chassis 3, air selection disc 4, jet slider 5, radial groove 10, and radial drive disc 11 are changed from planar structures to spherical arc structures (i.e., becoming part of the spherical shell) that match the radius of curvature of the cornea being measured. After installation, the axes of all nozzles 7 point to the common center of this spherical arc surface in their initial positions. When radial adjustment is performed, the jet slider 5 moves along the arc-shaped radial groove 10, and its trajectory is also a radial line around this common center. Therefore, when changing the radial or circumferential position of the nozzle 7, the distance from its end face to the corneal surface at the center of the spherical arc can remain essentially constant, thereby achieving approximate decoupling of jet distance and jet position.

[0062] The working process of this invention embodiment is as follows: 1. Initial alignment (based on variant designs, such as...) Figure 9 (as shown) Place the eyeball to be tested in front of the device so that the optical axis of the eyeball roughly coincides with the central imaging optical path of the device.

[0063] In conjunction with an external optical positioning system (such as the original positioning system of OCT), the entire device's posture is adjusted by driving the axial hollow screw motor 9 and the external multi-dimensional displacement stage (built into OCT) so that the virtual center of the device (i.e. the design center of the arc-shaped structure) is aligned with the geometric center of the cornea.

[0064] After alignment, fix the device base. During subsequent measurements, this alignment step does not need to be repeated unless the patient is changed or the fixation state of the eye is altered. Furthermore, the device is designed to be compatible with OCT systems: once the OCT system is aligned with the cornea, the device's concentric structure ensures that the excitation device aligns naturally without requiring separate concentric alignment.

[0065] 2. Excitation parameter setting and measurement: Setting the jet distance: The controller issues a command to drive the axial hollow screw motor 9 to move, causing the entire multi-nozzle device to move along the Z-axis until the distance between the end face of all nozzles 7 and the corneal surface reaches a preset value (e.g., 3-5 mm). This distance is determined by experimental testing and remains constant throughout the measurement cycle.

[0066] Select incentive mode and location: Single-point excitation mode: The controller calculates the corresponding circumferential selection position based on the preset target point. It drives the air selection disc control motor 8 to rotate, causing the air selection hole on the air selection disc 4 corresponding to the circumferential angle to rotate to a position connected to the air source. At this time, only the nozzle 7 connected to that air selection hole is in the ready-to-air-pump state.

[0067] Multi-point parallel excitation mode: The controller can drive the gas selection disk 4 to rotate, so that two or more spatially non-interfering gas selection holes can simultaneously connect to the gas source (depending on the gas selection hole layout design). These nozzles will simultaneously apply excitation to multiple corresponding points on the cornea, which can be used to study the regional synergy of corneal mechanical response or improve measurement flux.

[0068] Setting the radial position (optional): If the device is equipped with a radial adjustment function and it is necessary to change the radial position of the nozzle (e.g., from 3 mm to 4 mm from the center of the cornea), the controller can issue a command to drive the radial drive disk to control the motor 12 to rotate, and synchronously drive all the jet sliders 5 to move along the radial groove 10 to the target position through the radial drive disk 11.

[0069] Execution incentives and synchronous data collection: The controller issues a command to select a preset pressure air source (e.g., low pressure P1 or high pressure P2) through the pressure switching solenoid valve 25.

[0070] The compressed gas passes sequentially through the gas storage tank 23, the pressure switching solenoid valve 25, the air inlet pipe 1, the air inlet chassis 3, the gas selection plate 4, and the jet slider 5, and finally is ejected from the nozzle 7 onto the corneal surface.

[0071] In precise synchronization, an external high-speed imaging system (such as an OCT or Scheimpflug camera) is triggered to record the entire dynamic deformation process of the cornea under this local pulse excitation through the hollow channel in the center of the device.

[0072] 3. Global scanning and mechanical imaging: Following the preset measurement sequence (e.g., first change the circumferential angle, then change the radial distance), repeat the above steps of "selecting excitation mode and location" (and optional "setting radial position") and "performing excitation and synchronous acquisition" to traverse all target locations on the corneal surface.

[0073] For the same location, a "dual-excitation" mode is used: the air source is quickly switched via the pressure switching solenoid valve 25, applying two air pulses, one low-pressure (P1) and one high-pressure (P2), and recording the responses twice. The system software compares and analyzes the deformation characteristics of the same location under different pressure excitations, and can derive more accurate nonlinear mechanical parameters that are unaffected by individual differences.

[0074] The mechanical parameters (such as maximum deformation amplitude, response time, recovery speed, etc.) obtained from all points are spatially located and interpolated to generate a two-dimensional color map or "mechanical image" that reflects the spatial distribution of corneal biomechanical properties, visually displaying the hardness differences in different areas of the cornea.

[0075] 4. Assembly sequence of multi-nozzle global excitation device: Step 1: Fix the stator of the axial hollow screw motor 9 to the device base, ensuring that its hollow axis is coaxial with the imaging optical path.

[0076] Step 2: Stack the intake chassis 3 and the air selection plate 4 coaxially to form a ring body, and fix the ring body to the mover (screw nut) of the axial hollow screw motor 9.

[0077] Step 3: Install the 8 jet sliders 5 into the corresponding radial grooves 10, and then fix the radial grooves 10 onto the annular body.

[0078] Step 4: Fit the radial drive disk 11 onto the outer periphery of the annular body, so that it is coupled to all the jet sliders 5 through the inclined surface / spiral groove.

[0079] Step 5: Install the air selection disc control motor 8 and the radial drive disc control motor 12 in their respective positions (both motors are fixed on the air intake chassis 3). They can be connected to the air selection disc 4 and the radial drive disc 11 via gear drive or belt drive, regardless of the transmission method.

[0080] Step 6: Install each nozzle 7 onto the jet slider 5 via the quick-connect air outlet 6.

[0081] Step 7: Connect the intake pipe 1 to the intake chassis 3 via the intake quick connector 2.

[0082] Alternatives to the number and layout of nozzles: The example uses eight nozzles evenly distributed circumferentially. Alternatives may use four, six, twelve, or other numbers of nozzles; they do not necessarily have to be evenly distributed and can be arranged asymmetrically to meet measurement requirements.

[0083] The radial position of the nozzle can be fixed and not adjustable, relying solely on the different radial distances of the multiple nozzles to cover different positions, or each nozzle can be independently radially adjusted instead of the synchronous adjustment in the embodiment, for example, each jet slider 5 can be equipped with a separate micro motor drive.

[0084] Alternatives to the perimeter gating mechanism: In this embodiment, a rotary air selection disc 4 is used in conjunction with a common intake ring groove. An alternative could be: Independent solenoid valve array: Each nozzle 7 has a separate miniature solenoid valve installed on its air supply line, which is directly electrically controlled by the controller. This solution eliminates the need for an air selection plate and its control motor, but requires multiple solenoid valves and more air lines.

[0085] Time-sharing rotating single-nozzle: Only one nozzle is retained, but it is mounted on an arm that can rotate around the optical axis of the eyeball. The arm is driven by a motor to rotate to different circumferential angles for excitation. This solution has a simpler structure, but the measurement time is longer.

[0086] Alternatives to axial drive mechanisms: The embodiment uses an axial hollow lead screw motor 9. An alternative could be: Linear motor: Direct drive using a hollow linear motor, resulting in faster response.

[0087] External lead screw nut + ordinary motor: The motor is placed on the side via a synchronous belt or gear. The motor itself does not need to be hollow; only the overall bracket needs to be hollow.

[0088] Manual adjustment + locking: For the low-cost version, the axial distance can be adjusted by manually turning the knob, along with a ruler.

[0089] Alternatives to the radial adjustment mechanism: In this embodiment, all jet sliders 5 are synchronously driven by the rotation of the radial drive disk 11. An alternative could be: Abandoning radial adjustment function: Relying on multiple nozzle layers with different fixed radial distances (e.g., inner and outer rings of nozzles) to cover different radial positions is the lowest cost.

[0090] Each nozzle is driven by an independent micro screw: a micro screw motor is installed behind each jet slider 5 to achieve independent radial adjustment, which offers the highest flexibility but also the highest cost.

[0091] Alternatives to dual voltage regulator systems: The example uses two complete sets of "pressure regulating valve + gas storage tank + pressure transmitter" connected in parallel. An alternative could be: Single gas tank + dual pressure regulating valves in parallel output: They share a large gas tank, but output different pressures through two parallel electrically controlled pressure regulating valves, which are selected by a switching valve.

[0092] Direct pressure regulation using a proportional pressure valve: This method eliminates the need for an air tank and instead employs a high-speed response proportional pressure valve to directly output the required pressure waveform based on the control signal. This approach allows for continuously varying pressure excitation, but it is more expensive.

[0093] Three or more pressure-stabilized gas paths: Depending on the needs, it can be expanded to three or more different pressure paths to achieve multi-stage excitation.

[0094] Alternatives to common-center decoupling: Variant designs of the embodiments ( Figure 9 The planar structure can be changed to an arc-shaped structure. An alternative could be: Software compensation method: It still uses a planar structure, but in the software, it calibrates and compensates for the pressure attenuation caused by the jet distance and angle based on the geometric relationship between the actual position of the nozzle and the center of the cornea, thereby achieving "quasi-decoupling" at the algorithm level.

[0095] Flexible hinge guiding mechanism: The mechanical slide rail is replaced by an arc motion pair composed of flexible hinges to achieve frictionless and backlash-free arc motion.

[0096] Alternatives to positioning and alignment: Referring to patent application number 202610316658.6, a cross-shaped laser can be used. An alternative could be: Active alignment based on image recognition: real-time acquisition of corneal images via OCT or camera, software automatically identifies the corneal apex and curvature center, and drives the micro-motion platform to automatically complete concentric alignment.

[0097] Contact measurement (only during calibration): The corneal center is calibrated by contacting the corneal apex with a safe, disposable probe, which is then removed after calibration.

[0098] Alternatives to gas-operated discs: The example only shows a gas selection plate structure that integrates four working modes. In reality, there are many different gas selection schemes, and multiple different gas selection modes can be integrated into one gas selection plate.

[0099] In summary, this invention proposes a corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system. By combining an innovative dual-voltage stabilization system with an electronically controlled multi-nozzle global excitation device, it solves the problems of difficulty in adjusting excitation parameters, inability to perform global measurements, susceptibility to interference in the imaging optical path, and single excitation mode in existing technologies. This provides a complete hardware solution for achieving efficient, accurate, and automated in vivo assessment of corneal biomechanical properties.

[0100] The key innovative contributions and design features of this invention include: A hollow annular multi-nozzle global excitation architecture. The entire excitation device adopts an annular structure with a central opening. Multiple nozzles (two or more, preferably eight) are arranged circumferentially on the annular body, and the central through-hole provides an unobstructed channel for the imaging optical path. The annular body is connected to an axial drive mechanism (such as a hollow motor), which drives the entire structure to move axially.

[0101] An electrically controlled circumferential selection mechanism. A motor drives the gas selection disc to rotate, selectively connecting a common gas path to different nozzles in the circumferential direction; alternatively, each nozzle can be equipped with an independent solenoid valve. This mechanism allows for selective connection of the gas source to one or more circumferentially arranged nozzles while keeping the entire device stationary, achieving rapid, electrically controlled selection of the circumferential position of the excitation point without manual adjustment or complex multi-axis robotic arms. The structural design of the gas selection disc itself is also within the protection scope.

[0102] Dual-pressure stabilization and rapid gas source switching. The dual-pressure stabilization gas supply subsystem includes two parallel and independent gas pressure closed-loop control loops (gas filter, electrically controlled pressure regulating valve, gas tank, and pressure transmitter), with the output connected to the excitation device via a high-speed switching solenoid valve. This system can pre-stabilize two different pressures and complete rapid switching within milliseconds, achieving dual-excitation or continuously variable pressure output.

[0103] Hollow Axial Drive Mechanism. A hollow screw motor or hollow linear motor is used as the axial adjustment mechanism. Its mover is fixedly connected to the entire annular multi-nozzle device, driving the annular body to move as a whole along the optical axis of the eyeball, thereby independently adjusting the jet distance; the hollow structure ensures that the imaging optical path is not obstructed.

[0104] Radial adjustment mechanism. All jet sliders are synchronously driven to move along the radial groove by rotating a radial drive disc, utilizing inclined planes or spiral grooves; or each nozzle is equipped with an independent micro-actuator. This mechanism can change the nozzle's exit position in the corneal radial direction to cover different radial positions from the center to the periphery of the cornea.

[0105] A common-center decoupled arc-shaped variant structure. The mating surfaces of components such as the air intake chassis, air selection plate, jet slider, radial groove, and radial drive plate are changed from planar structures to spherical arc-shaped structures that match the curvature of the cornea. This ensures that the distance from the nozzle end face to the corneal surface remains essentially constant as the nozzle moves circumferentially and radially, thereby achieving approximate decoupling between the excitation position and the jet distance.

[0106] A global biomechanical parameter imaging method. Based on the aforementioned dual-pressure stabilizing multi-nozzle device, the control unit automatically traverses multiple preset combinations of circumferential angles and radial distances, performing single or dual excitation measurements at each point. Simultaneously, an external imaging system is triggered to acquire corneal deformation response data under each excitation, ultimately generating a two-dimensional parameter map or biomechanical image reflecting the spatial distribution of corneal biomechanical properties. Specifically, the method includes the following steps: a) Aligning the annular hollow region of the excitation device with the cornea and adjusting it to a preset working distance; b) Using electronic control, selecting nozzles at different circumferential and radial positions to sequentially apply one or more air pulses of different pressures to multiple predetermined areas of the corneal surface; c) Simultaneously acquiring the corneal deformation response under each excitation through the central aperture of the annular body; d) Generating a spatial distribution map of corneal biomechanical parameters based on all acquired data.

[0107] The concentric decoupled excitation device for local measurement of corneal mechanical parameters provided by this invention has the following significant advantages compared with the prior art: 1. It achieves true corneal global excitation without interfering with the imaging optical path, significantly improving the measurement range and information integrity.

[0108] Existing single-nozzle decoupling devices, limited by their mechanical structure, can only locally excite the lower half of the cornea, failing to reach the upper half, resulting in blind spots in the corneal biomechanical parameter distribution map. This invention employs a hollow ring structure and a circumferentially distributed multi-nozzle design (e.g., eight nozzles), with a central through-hole providing an unobstructed optical path for imaging devices such as OCT and high-speed cameras. By electrically controlling the selection of nozzles at different circumferential positions, excitation can be easily achieved in any direction—upper, lower, left, and right—achieving true 360° full corneal coverage. Simultaneously, the axial hollow screw motor further avoids optical path interference. This results in a more complete and accurate corneal biomechanical parameter distribution map, offering greater value for the early diagnosis of diseases such as keratoconus.

[0109] 2. Highly electronic and automated, easy and quick to operate, significantly improving clinical applicability.

[0110] Existing decoupling mechanisms rely on manual adjustment (manual rotation of the slide, manual radial movement), and their movements are complex, making it difficult to integrate a motor for compact electronic control. This invention uses a gas selection disc to control motor 8 to achieve rapid selection of the circumferential nozzle, and an axial hollow screw motor 9 to electrically adjust the jet distance. An optional radial drive disc control motor 12 can be added to electrically adjust the radial position. All excitation parameters (jet position, jet distance) can be controlled by software, enabling one-click sequential scanning of preset points. Operators do not need complex mechanical adjustments, significantly lowering the barrier to entry, shortening the time per examination, and making it more suitable for rapid clinical screening.

[0111] 3. The dual-voltage stabilization system provides highly consistent and rapidly switchable dual excitation sources, improving the accuracy of mechanical parameter inversion.

[0112] Existing technologies only provide a single pressure air pulse, failing to achieve "dual-excitation" comparative measurement at the same location. This invention integrates two independent closed-loop pressure-stabilized gas paths (electronically controlled pressure regulating valve + gas tank + pressure transmitter), which can pre-stabilize two gases at different pressures and complete the switching within milliseconds via the pressure switching solenoid valve 25. This design enables: (1) The repeatability and consistency of the excitation pressure are extremely high, avoiding measurement errors caused by gas source fluctuations.

[0113] (2) Low-pressure and high-pressure pulses can be applied to the same corneal site one after another. By comparing the response, more accurate nonlinear mechanical parameters (such as viscoelastic modulus) that are not affected by individual differences can be obtained, which is significantly better than the single excitation method.

[0114] 4. It supports multiple flexible incentive models, expanding the dimensions of research and application.

[0115] Existing technologies can only perform single-point sequential excitation. This invention, due to its multi-nozzle and gas selection disc design, possesses the following novel mode: (1) Multi-point parallel excitation: Multiple non-interfering nozzles can be opened simultaneously to apply excitation to multiple regions of the cornea at the same time, which can be used to study the regional synergy of corneal mechanical response or to achieve high-throughput measurement.

[0116] (2) Rapid dual-excitation mode: Apply two pulses with different pressures in succession at the same position within a very short time to obtain the dynamic response difference.

[0117] (3) Full-domain sequence scanning mode: Automatically traverses the preset combination of circumferential angle and radial distance to generate a high-density mechanical parameter cloud map.

[0118] These models provide richer experimental tools for corneal biomechanics research.

[0119] 5. Its compact structure and ease of miniaturization facilitate product commercialization.

[0120] Existing concentric spherical slide rail mechanisms require extremely high machining precision and have complex motion coupling, making them difficult to electrically control. This invention employs a structure of circumferentially fixed multiple nozzles + axial linear motion + rotating air selection disc, avoiding the complexity of spherical slide rails. All movements are simple rotational or linear motions, simplifying motor layout and resulting in a compact overall structure that can be integrated into benchtop equipment, significantly reducing manufacturing difficulty and cost, and facilitating commercialization.

[0121] 6. Non-contact measurement, high safety, and good patient experience.

[0122] Like existing technologies, this device uses air pulse excitation, making it a non-contact measurement. Furthermore, its hollow structure eliminates the risk of any mechanical parts coming into contact with the eyeball. The entire measurement process is painless and non-invasive, making it easy for patients to cooperate.

[0123] The above description, in conjunction with specific / preferred embodiments, provides a further detailed explanation of the present invention. It should not be construed that the specific implementation of the present invention is limited to these descriptions. For those skilled in the art, various substitutions or modifications can be made to these described embodiments without departing from the inventive concept, and all such substitutions or modifications should be considered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system, characterized in that, include: The dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem is used to provide two independent, adjustable, and rapidly switchable stable compressed gas streams. A multi-nozzle excitation subsystem includes an annular body with a central through-hole, a plurality of nozzles arranged circumferentially along the annular body, an axial adjustment mechanism for driving the annular body to move along its own axial direction, and a circumferential selection mechanism for selectively guiding compressed gas to one or more of the nozzles. The control unit is communicatively connected to the dual-pressure-stabilized air supply subsystem and the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The gas output terminal of the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem is connected to the gas input terminal of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The multi-nozzle excitation subsystem has a common-center decoupling structure, which ensures that the movement trajectory of each nozzle when changing its jet position revolves around a common center, so as to keep the jet distance from the nozzle end face to the corneal surface basically constant. The control unit controls the dual-pressure stabilizing gas supply subsystem to output gas at a selected pressure, and controls the circumferential gating mechanism to select the corresponding nozzle, so that the selected gas is ejected from the corresponding nozzle to apply local air pulse excitation to the corneal surface.

2. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The dual-pressure stabilized gas supply subsystem includes: Two parallel and independent gas pressure closed-loop control loops are provided. Each loop includes an electronically controlled pressure regulating valve, a gas storage tank, and a pressure transmitter connected in sequence. The pressure transmitter is used to monitor the gas pressure in the gas storage tank in real time and feed it back to the control unit to form a closed-loop control. A pressure switching solenoid valve has its input end connected to the output end of two of the circuits, and its output end connected to the gas input end of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem. The pressure switching solenoid valve is controlled by the control unit to selectively output gas from any of the circuits to the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem.

3. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The annular body of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem includes an air intake chassis and an air selection disk coaxially stacked. The air intake chassis has an annular air groove to form a common air chamber, and the air selection disk has at least one air selection hole, which communicates with the corresponding nozzle. The circumferential selection mechanism includes an air selection disk control motor that drives the air selection disk to rotate relative to the air intake chassis. By rotating, the air selection hole selectively communicates with the common air chamber, thereby connecting the corresponding nozzle.

4. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 3, characterized in that, The gas selection plate has multiple gas selection holes, which are configured to simultaneously select two or more nozzles to achieve parallel excitation of multiple sites on the corneal surface.

5. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The axial adjustment mechanism is a hollow linear actuator with a central through hole. The moving part of the hollow linear actuator is fixedly connected to the annular body. The axis of the hollow linear actuator is coaxial with the axis of the annular body and the central through hole, so as to keep the central through hole unobstructed when driving the annular body to move axially.

6. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The hollow linear actuator is a hollow screw motor or a hollow linear motor.

7. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-nozzle excitation subsystem also includes a radial adjustment mechanism, which is used to synchronously adjust the radial position of each nozzle relative to the center of the annular body.

8. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 7, characterized in that, The radial adjustment mechanism includes: Multiple radial grooves are provided on the annular body; Multiple jet sliders are respectively disposed in each of the radial slide grooves and can slide along them, and each of the nozzles is respectively mounted on the corresponding jet slider; An annular radial drive disk, which is coupled to each of the jet sliders via an inclined surface or a spiral groove; A radial drive disk control motor that drives the radial drive disk to rotate; When the radial drive disk control motor drives the radial drive disk to rotate, it synchronously drives each jet slider to move along the corresponding radial groove, thereby changing the radial position of each nozzle.

9. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, At least a portion of the mating surfaces of the annular body of the multi-nozzle excitation subsystem are spherical arc-shaped structures. The radius of curvature of the spherical arc-shaped structure matches the radius of curvature of the cornea to be tested, so that the axis of each nozzle points to the common center of the spherical arc-shaped structure, thereby keeping the distance from the nozzle end face to the corneal surface constant when the nozzle position is changed.

10. The corneal biomechanical parameter measurement system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The control unit is also used for: The dual-pressure gas supply subsystem is controlled to sequentially output gas at different pressures to the same selected nozzle to achieve dual-excitation measurement of the same corneal site. The circumferential gating mechanism and / or radial adjustment mechanism are controlled to traverse multiple preset corneal sites and simultaneously trigger the external imaging system to collect corneal deformation response data under each excitation, so as to generate a spatial distribution map of corneal biomechanical parameters.

Images