Glaucoma Risk Screening Using Blood Flow and Pulse Wave Indices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for diagnosing glaucoma, particularly normal tension glaucoma, are challenging due to the lack of noticeable symptoms in early stages, making it difficult to detect before significant visual field defects occur, and current diagnostic tools like visual field testing are cumbersome and prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A glaucoma determination system that assesses blood flow changes using pulse wave amplitude and heart rate adjustment index to predict the possibility of glaucoma without large-scale myoelectric potential measurements, utilizing imaging and calculation units to determine glaucoma risk based on blood flow indices.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual field testing is used to diagnose normal tension glaucoma, then diagnostic accuracy is improved, but measurement time and patient burden increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential diagnostic information (autonomic nervous system function indicators) from the complex visual field testing process. By measuring heart rate variability and other autonomic parameters through simpler means, it obtains the critical diagnostic data needed for glaucoma detection without requiring the full visual field testing procedure, thus reducing measurement time while maintaining diagnostic accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical/optical system of visual field testing with a physiological measurement system based on autonomic nervous function. Instead of using light indices and visual responses, it measures heart rate variability and other autonomic parameters that correlate with glaucoma risk, providing a faster alternative that maintains diagnostic value.
2Measurement precision
If visual field testing is used to detect early glaucoma, then diagnostic capability is improved, but patient motivation and compliance decrease due to lack of symptoms and measurement burden
Solution Approach 1:
The invention employs simple, inexpensive measurement methods (heart rate monitoring, basic physiological sensors) that can be quickly performed without requiring patient commitment to lengthy procedures. These minimal-intrusion measurements reduce the barrier to entry for patients, making them more willing to participate in screening programs for early glaucoma detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention performs preliminary assessment of autonomic nervous function that can indicate glaucoma risk before visual field defects become apparent. By measuring heart rate variability and other autonomic parameters, it provides early warning signs that motivate patients to seek further evaluation, enabling intervention before significant visual field loss occurs.
3Loss of information
If ECG data is analyzed to assess autonomic nervous function for glaucoma diagnosis, then diagnostic information is improved, but measurement complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts specific, clinically relevant features from ECG data (heart rate variability parameters, RR interval variations) that directly correlate with autonomic nervous function and glaucoma risk. By focusing on these key indicators rather than analyzing the entire ECG waveform in detail, it obtains sufficient diagnostic information while simplifying the measurement and processing requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses a single ECG measurement system to simultaneously assess multiple aspects of autonomic nervous function (sympathetic and parasympathetic activity) that are relevant to glaucoma diagnosis. This multi-functional approach provides comprehensive diagnostic information through one simple measurement modality, avoiding the need for multiple separate complex tests.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided a system that determines the possibility of glaucoma without a large-scale measurement of a myoelectric potential of the heart. A glaucoma determination system (1) includes a processor (112) that acquires index data related to blood flow of a subject, determines, based on the acquired index data, the possibility of glaucoma in an eye of the subject, and outputs information related to the determined possibility of glaucoma.