Digital assistive device for securing visual field of patient with visual field defect

Abstract

Disclosed is a digital assistive device for securing a visual field of a patient with a visual field defect. Specifically, the present invention comprises: a main body frame formed in the shape of glasses or goggles and wearable by a wearer; one or more camera modules which are mounted on the outside of the main body frame and photograph the front of the wearer; a display module including a left panel and a right panel provided on the left and right sides inside the main body frame, respectively, to provide images captured by the camera modules in real time; a control module which divides each of the screens of the left panel and the right panel into two sections on the left and right sides to form divided sectors to control display of the images captured by the camera modules in only some of the divided sectors; and a lens module provided to correspond to the left panel and the right panel to guide the displayed images to the eyes of the wearer.

Description

Digital assistive devices for improving vision in patients with visual field defects

[0001] The present invention relates to a digital device, and more specifically, to a digital assistive device for securing vision in patients with visual field defects, capable of expanding and acquiring the vision of patients who have visual field constriction or visual field defects caused by various causes.

[0002] Recently, there has been increasing interest in visual field defects caused by brain function impairment due to brain-related diseases such as stroke.

[0003] For example, a patient with impaired function in the left visual cortex develops hemianopia, in which they cannot recognize objects due to a visual field defect in the right field of vision when looking straight ahead with both eyes open.

[0004] In addition, patients whose optic tract below the optic chiasm is damaged due to cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, or brain tumor, or whose occipital lobe is damaged, may develop homonymous hemianopia or quadrantianopia due to dysfunction of the brain's optic nerve or visual area rather than dysfunction of the eyeball.

[0005] Visual field defects, such as homonymous hemianopia or quadrantianopia, cause significant inconvenience in daily life and can often lead to dangerous situations. This is because the affected area is obscured, making it difficult to perceive approaching obstacles, objects, or people while walking or moving. In particular, recovery from visual field defects is known to be very slow, and rehabilitation for the related disability is also difficult.

[0006] Therefore, there is a need for technology that can assist in rehabilitation while ensuring patient safety by enabling the patient to recognize when an object approaches from the direction of visual impairment or is located at close range, and to avoid danger.

[0007] There is also a study that reported that in order to treat these visual field defects, the perception of movement improved after visual perception learning in five adults with primary visual cortex damage.

[0008] Conventionally, visual field defects are treated by repeatedly stimulating the peripheral vision area of ​​the patient and having the patient respond when the patient recognizes the given stimulus; however, this approach merely makes the patient accustomed to the repetitive conventional treatment method, and since visual perception learning does not actually occur in the patient, there is a problem of reduced treatment effectiveness.

[0009] Therefore, rather than treatment, there is a need to develop assistive devices to alleviate the difficulties in daily life caused by limitations in eye movement and visual field defects resulting from trauma or spontaneously occurring intracranial lesions (hemorrhage, infarction, etc.).

[0010] To this end, in the case of strabismus patients, when light-refracting prisms were fitted to patients with visual field constriction, the direction of gaze changed rather than the expected expansion of the visual field, resulting in a cosmetic deterioration instead.

[0011] And when a secondary processed image was displayed using a wide-angle lens of a camera, there was a positive aspect in that some of the previously obscured vision could be seen through peripheral vision, but problems arose that had to be solved because the display had to be done at close range and the screen had to be viewed only with the remaining vision.

[0012] (Patent Document 1) Republic of Korea Registered Patent 10-2232925 (Mar. 22, 2021) "Vision defect treatment device and vision defect treatment method"

[0013] (Patent Document 2) Republic of Korea Registered Patent 10-2294152 (Aug. 20, 2021) "Rehabilitation Aid Glasses for Visual Impairment"

[0014] (Patent Document 3) Republic of Korea Published Patent 10-2024-0144022 (October 2, 2024) "Smart glasses system and method for patients with visual impairment"

[0015] The objective of the present invention, which aims to solve the aforementioned problems, is to provide a digital assistive device for securing the vision of a patient with visual field defects, which provides video captured in real-time by a camera while worn by a patient with visual field constriction due to hemianopia, and assists in securing the vision by dividing the screen and positioning it within the wearer's actual field of vision.

[0016] The objectives of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other unmentioned objectives will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below.

[0017] A digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects according to the present invention for achieving such objectives may comprise: a main body frame formed in the shape of glasses or goggles that can be worn by a wearer; one or more camera modules mounted on the outer side of the main body frame to photograph the front of the wearer; a display module including a left panel and a right panel respectively provided on the inner side of the main body frame to provide images captured by the camera module in real time; a control module that controls the screens of the left panel and the right panel to divide into two left and right sections to form divided sectors, and to display images captured by the camera module only in some of the divided sectors; and a lens module provided to correspond to the left panel and the right panel to guide the displayed images to the wearer's eyes.

[0018] Here, the control module may comprise an input unit into which image data captured by the camera module is input, a storage unit for storing the image data input to the input unit, a division selection unit for selecting a division sector to be displayed among the division sectors, a scaling unit for processing the image data stored in the storage unit and adjusting the ratio to match the size of the division sector selected by the division selection unit, and an output unit for displaying the screen adjusted by the scaling unit on the selected division sector.

[0019] And the lens module may be a convex lens or a Fresnel lens installed to correspond to the left panel and the right panel, respectively, and a lens adjustment means for moving the lens module back and forth may be further provided.

[0020] In addition, the main body frame comprises a rim portion located in front of the wearer's eyes and a temple portion connected to both sides of the rim portion and worn over the wearer's ears, wherein a battery supplying power to the camera and control module may be built inside the temple portion.

[0021] In addition, the main body frame is equipped with a proximity sensor that detects the approach distance or approach speed of surrounding objects and generates a detection signal, and the control module may further include a display unit that informs the wearer of the approach distance or approach speed of objects within the range of the missing field of view.

[0022] According to the present invention described above, since an expanded field of vision can be provided to patients with visual field constriction or visual field defects, it has the effect of helping to reduce exposure to risk in daily life and assist in returning to household chores and existing occupations.

[0023] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the exterior of a digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] FIG. 2 is an internal cross-sectional view of the rim portion of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a detailed configuration diagram of the control module of the present invention illustrated in FIG. 1.

[0026] FIG. 4 is an operating state diagram of the present invention

[0027] <Explanation of Symbols>

[0028] 100 : Main body frame 110 : Rim

[0029] 120 : Temple part 130 : Connecting member

[0030] 140 : Battery 150 : Proximity sensor

[0031] 200 : Camera module

[0032] 300 : Display Module DS : Divided Sector

[0033] 310 : Left panel 320 : Right panel

[0034] 400 : Control module

[0035] 500 : Lens module 510 : Lens adjustment means

[0036] In the following, embodiments of the present invention are provided for a more accessible understanding of the present invention and do not limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the following embodiments are provided to ensure that the disclosure of the present invention is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the scope of the invention, and the present invention is defined only by the scope of the claims.

[0037] Furthermore, the terms used herein are for describing embodiments and are not intended to limit the invention. In this specification, the singular form includes the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the text. As used herein, "comprises" and / or "comprising" do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the components mentioned.

[0038] Furthermore, unless otherwise defined, all terms used in this specification (including technical and scientific terms) may be used in a meaning that is commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Also, terms defined in commonly used dictionaries are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless explicitly and specifically defined otherwise.

[0039] In addition, when describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related prior art could unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, such detailed description may be omitted.

[0040] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings.

[0041] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the exterior of a digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an internal cross-sectional view of the rim portion of the present invention shown in FIG. 1.

[0042] With reference to FIG. 1, the present invention can be implemented by including a main body frame (100), a camera module (200), a display module (300), a control module (400), and a lens module (500).

[0043] First, the above main body frame (100) will be described.

[0044] The above main body frame (100) is a component that forms the overall shape of the present invention and may have a shape similar to glasses or goggles, so that the wearer can wear it by placing it over their ears and nose.

[0045] Specifically, the main body frame (100) may be composed of a rim portion (110) and a temple portion (120).

[0046] The above rim portion (110) has a circular or polygonal shape and is provided in pairs, each positioned on both eyes of the wearer. These rim portions (110) will be connected to each other by a connecting member (130).

[0047] And the above temple portion (120) is provided in pairs and is connected at right angles to each of the two edges of the above rim portion (110).

[0048] The above temple portion (120) may be in the shape of a bar or a rod, and a hanging portion may be formed at the end that is bent or folded so as to be hung over the wearer's ear.

[0049] As another embodiment, the temple portion (120) may be formed in a band shape and worn by wrapping around the wearer's head, thereby taking the form of goggles.

[0050] Next, the above camera module (200) will be described.

[0051] The camera module (200) is installed in front of the main body frame (100) and can capture the front where the wearer's gaze is directed in real time.

[0052] Preferably, the camera module (200) can be mounted anywhere on the front of the rim portion (110), but preferably, it can be mounted between the rim portions (110), that is, exposed on the connecting member (130).

[0053] Specifically, when there is only one camera module (200), it is preferable to mount it on the connecting member (130), but when a pair is provided separately, they can be mounted on the left rim (110) and the right rim (110), respectively.

[0054] The connecting member (130) or the rim (110) must be provided with sufficient thickness or depth so that the camera module (200) is sufficiently embedded and wires are embedded inside.

[0055] Next, the above-mentioned display module (300) will be described.

[0056] The above display module (300) is configured to provide a screen that displays the image captured by the above camera module (200) in real time.

[0057] The display module (300) may be provided as a single panel and attached across the inner surface of the rim portion (110), but preferably, it may be provided as a left panel (310) and a right panel (320) respectively and attached to the rim portion.

[0058] The above left panel (310) and right panel (320) can be implemented with various display technologies such as LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes), LED (Light-Emitting Diode), LcoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon), or DLP (Digital Light Processing).

[0059] And these left panel (310) and right panel (320) can be fixed by being fitted into the interior of the rim (110), or by being glued or fastened.

[0060] Next, the control module (400) will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows a detailed configuration diagram of the control module of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 shows an operating state diagram of the present invention.

[0061] The above control module (400) is a core technical feature of the present invention and controls the image data captured by the camera module (200) to be displayed on the left panel (310) and right panel (320) of the display module (300), and can control it to be displayed not only on the entire left panel (310) and right panel (320) but also on only a part thereof.

[0062] The above-mentioned control module (400) may be implemented in the form of a PCB and installed so as not to be exposed by being attached to the rear surface of the left panel (310) and the right panel (320), but is not limited thereto.

[0063] The above control module (400) has necessary applications or programs built in and controls the overall operation. For example, it may include a CPU, RAM, ROM, and a system bus as a processor. Here, ROM is a configuration in which an instruction set for system booting is stored, and the CPU copies the operating system stored in memory to RAM according to the instructions stored in ROM, and executes the O / S to boot the system. Once booting is complete, the CPU can copy various applications or programs stored in memory to RAM and execute them to perform various operations.

[0064] Additionally, the processor may be implemented as a digital signal processor, a microprocessor, and / or a TCON (Time controller) that processes digital signals. However, it is not limited thereto, and may include or be defined by one or more of a central processing unit (CPU), a micro controller unit (MCU), a micro processing unit (MPU), a controller, an application processor, a communication processor, or an ARM processor. Furthermore, the processor may be implemented as a System on Chip (SoC) or large-scale integration (LSI) with embedded processing algorithms, or in the form of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

[0065] Specifically, the control module (400) may be implemented by including an input unit, a storage unit, a division selection unit, a scaling unit, and an output unit.

[0066] The above input unit is an interface into which image data captured by the camera module (200) is input in real time. It is also connected to a proximity sensor (150) described later and receives a signal detected by the proximity sensor (150).

[0067] And the image data input from the above input unit is temporarily stored in the above storage unit. The above storage unit may be provided in the form of a memory.

[0068] In addition, the above-mentioned split selection unit divides the left panel (310) and the right panel (320) into multiple parts to form a split sector (DS) on the screen, and selects a split sector (DS) to be displayed among the split sectors (DS).

[0069] For example, in order to enable a patient with hemianopia who can see only half of the field of vision to see 100% with 50% of the field of vision, the screens of the left panel (310) and the right panel (320) can be divided into two, and any of the two divided sectors (DS) can be selected to display image data only in the selected sector (DS).

[0070] In the present invention, the divided sector (DS) is formed by dividing the left panel (310) and the right panel (320) into two parts each, limited to the symptoms of a hemianopia patient; however, it may be possible to select and display the divided sector in response to various symptoms caused by visual field constriction by dividing it more finely into four parts or more.

[0071] Here, the division ratio can be arbitrarily controlled. For example, in FIG. 4, as shown in (a), the division can be done in an equal ratio of 50:50 when divided into two, but as shown in (b) and (c), it can be divided in different ratios such as 40:60 or 30:70. This is to allow adjustment in response to the degree of visual field constriction or defect of the user.

[0072] The above scaling unit functions to adjust the resolution or the aspect ratio to match the size of the selected partitioned sector (DS).

[0073] That is, the image data stored in the storage unit is received, and the necessary data values ​​are adjusted to match the size of the divided sector (DS) selected by the division selection unit, and then transmitted to the output unit.

[0074] The adjusted data transmitted to the output unit is transmitted only to the selected divided sectors (gray areas) on the left panel (310) and right panel (320) and is partially displayed, while the unselected divided sectors (X areas) are not displayed. (See FIG. 4)

[0075] Next, the lens module (500) is described.

[0076] The screen of the above display module (300) is very close to the user's eyes, so it is not in focus and therefore cannot be directly perceived by the user.

[0077] To solve this, a lens module is provided on the outer side of the left panel (310) and the right panel (320) respectively so as to correspond to the user's eye. To this end, a pair of lens modules (500) are provided and each can be installed and fixed inside the rim portion (110).

[0078] The above lens module (500) is a means of guiding the image displayed on the above display module (300) to the user's eyes.

[0079] The above lens module (500) may be a convex lens. However, preferably, it may be a Fresnel lens.

[0080] The above Fresnel lens is designed to have a large diameter and a short focal length, while occupying a lighter weight and smaller volume compared to conventional lenses. Therefore, Fresnel lenses transmit more light while being thinner and lighter than commercially available lenses of the same diameter.

[0081] By using the above Fresnel lens, the size and weight of the present invention can be made more compact.

[0082] In addition, the lens module (500) may be further provided with a lens adjustment means (510) to allow the lens to be moved back and forth.

[0083] The above lens adjustment means (510) can be driven using a rack and pinion, etc.

[0084] This allows the user to have the optimal screen displayed within their field of vision. This is because the screen size or resolution perceived as optimal can vary from user to user, and their eyesight also differs.

[0085] Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

[0086] As shown in FIG. 1, the interior of the temple portion (120) of the main body frame (100) has a hollow structure, and a battery (140) can be embedded in the hollow interior.

[0087] That is, a battery (140) can be built into each of the left temple part (120) and the right temple part (120), and the left battery (140) can be designed to supply power to the left panel (310), and the right battery (140) can be designed to supply power to the right panel (320).

[0088] In addition, a proximity sensor (150) may be further provided on the main body frame (100) to detect the approach distance or approach speed of surrounding objects, generate a detection signal, and transmit it to the control module (400).

[0089] Preferably, the proximity sensor (150) can be mounted on the outer side of the rim (110) or on the side of the temple (120) to ensure that the side with the closed view is observed.

[0090] The above proximity sensor (150) is electrically connected to the control module (400), and the control module (400) may further include a display unit that informs the user of the distance or speed of an approaching object.

[0091] The above display unit can be displayed on the left panel (310) and right panel (320) in a manner such as a signal, sound, image, or text.

[0092] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings according to embodiments thereof, those skilled in the art will be able to make various applications and modifications within the scope of the present invention based on the above content.

Claims

1. A main frame shaped like glasses or goggles that can be worn by a wearer; One or more camera modules mounted on the outer side of the main body frame to photograph the front of the wearer; A display module comprising a left panel and a right panel, respectively provided on the left and right sides inside the main body frame, for providing images captured by the camera module in real time; A control module that controls the screens of the left panel and the right panel to divide them into two equal parts, left and right, to form divided sectors, and to display an image captured by the camera module in only some of the divided sectors; A digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects, characterized by comprising: a lens module configured to correspond to the above-mentioned left panel and right panel and guiding an image displayed thereon to the wearer's eyes.

2. In Paragraph 1, The above control module is, A digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects, characterized by comprising: an input unit into which image data captured by the camera module is input; a storage unit for storing image data input through the input unit; a division selection unit for selecting a division sector to be displayed among the division sectors; a scaling unit for processing image data stored in the storage unit and adjusting the ratio to fit the size of the division sector selected by the division selection unit; and an output unit for displaying the screen adjusted by the scaling unit on the selected division sector.

3. In Paragraph 1, A digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects, characterized in that the lens module may be a convex lens or a Fresnel lens installed to correspond to the left panel and the right panel, respectively, and further provided with a lens adjustment means for moving the lens module back and forth.

4. In Paragraph 1, The above main body frame is, It comprises a rim portion located in front of the wearer's eyes and temple portions coupled to both sides of the rim portion and resting on the wearer's ears, A digital assistive device for securing vision in patients with visual impairment, characterized by having a battery built inside the temple portion that supplies power to the camera and control module.

5. In Paragraph 1, The above main body frame is equipped with a proximity sensor that detects the approach distance or approach speed of surrounding objects and generates a detection signal, and A digital assistive device for securing vision in a patient with visual field defects, characterized in that the control module further includes a display unit electrically connected to the proximity sensor to inform the wearer of the approach distance or approach speed of an object within the range of the missing field of vision.

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