Ocular Assessment Device with Tiltable Mirror for Reading Position
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for assessing refractive and lag characteristics of the eye, particularly for presbyopia corrective glasses, often provide non-representative results, leading to inaccurate corrections, especially when the patient is in a reading position.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that position the patient's head in a reading position and use a device emitting a light beam, such as a skiascope or aberrometer, to objectively assess visual characteristics, with a tiltable mirror and inclined scene support to optimize the assessment of refractive and lag characteristics, allowing for precise determination of ocular aberrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the patient is positioned in a standard examination position (head upright, eye level with examiner), then the examination procedure is simple and quick, but the refractive and lag characteristic measurements are non-representative and inaccurate for presbyopia correction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the examination setup adaptable to different patient positions. The key innovation is allowing the patient to be positioned in a reading position (head tilted forward, eyes focused on near target) rather than requiring a fixed standard position. This dynamic positioning approach enables accurate measurement of presbyopic characteristics while maintaining procedural simplicity through the use of a tiltable mirror that adjusts to the patient's head angle.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the positional parameters of the examination setup by introducing a tiltable mirror that can be adjusted to match the patient's head tilt angle in reading position. This parameter change (mirror tilt angle) compensates for the non-standard patient positioning, enabling accurate optical axis alignment and precise refractive measurement without requiring complex additional equipment.
2Measurement precision
If a tiltable mirror and inclined scene support are added to optimize reading position assessment, then measurement accuracy for presbyopia correction is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tiltable mirror serves multiple functions: it redirects the optical beam to the patient's eye, it compensates for head tilt in reading position, and it maintains proper optical axis alignment. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate adjustment mechanisms, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity while achieving improved measurement accuracy for both refractive and lag characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new degree of freedom (mirror tilt angle) to solve the problem of accurate measurement in reading position. By adding this dimensional adjustment capability, the system can accommodate various head positions and maintain optical alignment without requiring complex mechanical positioning systems or multiple fixed components.
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
This approach improves the accuracy of refractive and lag characteristic assessments, ensuring more precise corrections for presbyopia, particularly for monofocal and progressive addition lenses, by aligning the patient's head and eye position with the viewing board to reflect accurate visual behavior.
Implementation Method 1
The retina, or more accurately the ocular fundus, acts as the primary reflector that reverses the direction of light in the eye such that light emitted from the eye can be analyzed. Specular reflections from the ocular fundus occur according to intensities derived from Fresnel's formula for specular reflection at the layered concave optical interfaces between the vitreous retina, pigment epithelium and choroid.
Implementation Method 2
A divergent beam of light from a filament source is refracted by a plus condensing lens below the reflecting surface before it is reflected by the perforated or half-silvered mirror.
Implementation Method 3
the light beam emitted by the skiascope can be advantageously reflected by a mirror in order to improve operator's comfort. Advantageously, the mirror is substantially horizontal.
Data Source
AI summary
A method to assess objectively visual characteristics of one eye (10) of a patient (1) comprising the steps of: a) positioning the patient's (1) head in a reading position, b) determining the visual characteristics by using a device (3) arranged to assess objectively visual characteristics of the eye (10), the device being arranged to emit a light beam (81, 82). Relates also to a system for assessing objectively visual characteristics of one eye (10) of a patient (1) comprising:—a head support arranged to position the patient's (1) head in a reading position, a device (3) arranged to assess objectively visual characteristics of the eye (10), the device (3) being arranged to emit a light beam (81, 82).