Eyelid Occlusion Sensor for Adaptive Contact Lens Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current eye-mountable devices lack the ability to dynamically adjust optical power to compensate for diminished or lost accommodation abilities, such as those due to aging or cataract surgery, and struggle to detect and respond to user eye movements for adaptive focusing.
Innovation Solution
An eye-mountable ophthalmic device with an adjustable lens and an eyelid occlusion sensor that detects occlusion and user gestures to control optical power, using a combination of mechanical and electronic means to change the lens's diopter or focal length, allowing for automatic adjustment based on detected movements like blinking or looking downward.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an eye-mountable device includes sensors and adjustable lenses to dynamically adjust optical power, then the ability to compensate for diminished accommodation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The device uses the wearer's own eyelid movements (blinking, squinting, looking down) as natural control signals to automatically adjust optical power, eliminating the need for external controls or complex user interfaces. The system serves itself by converting physiological movements into focusing commands
Solution Approach 2:
The eyelid occlusion sensor serves multiple functions: detecting blinks, squints, and downward gazes, all of which are used to control different aspects of the adjustable lens. A single sensor component handles diverse gesture recognition tasks
2Ease of operation
If the device uses eyelid occlusion sensors to detect user gestures for controlling optical power, then ease of operation is improved, but the measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors eyelid occlusion levels and provides real-time feedback by adjusting optical power in response to detected gestures. The controller processes occlusion signals and dynamically modifies lens power to match user intent, creating a closed-loop control system
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects changes in eyelid occlusion parameters (degree of closure, duration, pattern) to distinguish between different gestures such as blinks, squints, and downward gazes. By monitoring parameter variations over time, the system achieves accurate gesture recognition
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2A~2D
Figure 2E
AI summary
An eye-mountable device is provided that includes an eyelid occlusion sensor. The eyelid occlusion sensor is used to detect winks, squints, downwards glances or looks, blinks, or other eye-based gestures generated by the user. Based on the detected gestures, an optical power of an adjustable lens of the device may be changed or some other operations could be performed by the eye-mountable device. Such operations could include toggling the optical power of the lens between first and second power levels due to the user squinting, looking downward, or performing some other gesture. Additionally or alternatively, such operations could include setting the optical power of the lens to a first optical power unless the user is looking downward, in which case the optical power of the lens could be set to a second optical power.