Ophthalmic Lens Orientation Detection in Packaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Silicone hydrogel contact lenses can become inverted and physically distorted during sterilization due to their flexible nature, leading to improper orientation when used, which is not effectively detected by existing methods.
Innovation Solution
A method involving illumination of the lens and its solution in packaging, followed by image acquisition and analysis using a camera and algorithms to determine if the lens is inverted, utilizing a light source and camera system that points to the concave side of the lens, with preferred durations of illumination and intensity levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If silicone hydrogel lenses are sterilized by heating to 100°C or greater, then sterilization is effective, but the lenses may become inverted and physically distorted due to their flexible nature
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of lens orientation before sterilization by capturing an image of the lens in its packaging and analyzing whether it is inverted. This allows inverted lenses to be identified and removed from the sterilization process, preventing the harmful inversion and distortion that would otherwise occur during heating sterilization.
2Ease of operation
If optical inspection methods are used to detect lens inversion, then non-contact detection is achieved, but existing methods cannot effectively detect inverted lenses within their packaging
Solution Approach 1:
The system illuminates the lens from below through the packaging and captures the image from above, utilizing the refraction of light through the lens surfaces. This dimensional approach to illumination and detection allows the optical system to distinguish inverted from non-inverted lenses based on how light refracts through the different surface orientations, achieving effective detection within packaging.
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes differences in light refraction and reflection patterns that occur when the lens is inverted versus non-inverted. By analyzing the optical properties and image characteristics under controlled illumination, the system can detect the inversion state without physical contact, overcoming the limitations of previous optical methods.
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
Effectively identifies inverted lenses before sterilization, preventing distortion and ensuring correct orientation, thereby enhancing the quality of contact lenses produced.
Implementation Method 1
illuminating the ophthalmic lens and its solution in its packaging
Implementation Method 2
acquiring a image of the illuminated ophthalmic lens
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
AI summary
A method and apparatus for determining whether an ophtalmic lens (10) that is suspended in a solution is inverted in its packaging (12). The lens and its solution in their packaging are illuminated by a light source (16), an image is acquired by a Smart Camera (18), and the image is analyzed to determine whether the ophtalmic lens is inverted.