Contact Lens Holder Dock for Stable Insertion and Bubble Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Contact lens insertion is challenging due to factors like the blink reflex, narrow interpalpebral aperture, difficulty with fine motor control, and the rigid nature of specialty lenses, leading to issues such as air bubble formation and spillage of saline solution, especially for scleral and hybrid lenses.
Innovation Solution
A universal lens holder dock with a light source and adjustable height, allowing hands-free stabilization and improved alignment, reducing saline solution spillage and air bubble formation by providing a stable platform for lens insertion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the user holds the lens holder in their hand during lens application, then they can control the lens position, but they cannot effectively control the blink reflex and spread eyelids open
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a stationary base as an intermediary support structure. The lens holder is positioned on this fixed base rather than being held in the hand, allowing the user's hands to be freely available for spreading the eyelids and controlling the insertion process without compromising lens holder stability.
2Ease of operation
If the lens holder is held in the hand during insertion, then portability is maintained, but saline solution spills and air bubbles form
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into a stationary base component and a removable lens holder component. The base provides stable support to prevent solution spillage, while the lens holder can be easily attached and removed. This segmentation allows the system to gain stability without requiring the entire device to be complex.
3Reliability
If specialty lenses with rigid gas permeable material are used, then vision correction is improved, but air bubbles become trapped between lens and eye
Solution Approach 1:
The stationary base allows the user to prepare the lens with saline solution in advance, filling the concave surface completely before insertion. This preliminary action ensures that when the rigid specialty lens is applied to the eye, no air bubbles are trapped between the lens and the eye surface.
4Reliability
If scleral and hybrid lenses are used, then vision correction is improved, but insertion becomes more difficult due to larger diameter
Solution Approach 1:
The stationary base acts as an intermediary support that holds the larger-diameter scleral or hybrid lens stable during the insertion process. This allows users with narrow interpalpebral apertures to insert these larger lenses more easily, as the base provides a stable platform while the user maneuvers the lens into position.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device facilitates easier and more precise contact lens application by stabilizing the lens and reducing the likelihood of air bubbles, enhancing user comfort and vision by minimizing solution spillage and improving alignment with the eye.
Implementation Method 1
the device features an LED light source or other light source that enables the user to more easily align their eye with the center of the lens during insertion
Implementation Method 2
The light source may include the use of a glow-in-the-dark material, containing for example zinc sulfide, strontium aluminate or another material that behaves phosphorescently
Data Source
AI summary
A contact lens application aid including a lens holder dock having an elongated supporting member having a base end and a coupling end. The coupling end is structured and dimensioned to receive a lens holder. The lens holder dock includes a transparent material or a translucent material and is configured to illuminate the coupling end. A supporting base is configured to rest on a flat surface and receive, at a central portion of the supporting base, the base end of the lens holder dock via a friction fit. The supporting base extends outwardly from the central region such that a diameter of the supporting base is greater than a diameter of the lens holder dock.