Ophthalmic Lens Design Using Accommodative Error Measurements

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for manufacturing ophthalmic lenses, particularly those designed to address conditions like myopia progression, require lengthy clinical studies to determine efficacy, leading to significant time delays in design refinement and patient treatment.

Innovation Solution

The use of accommodative error measurements to select and design ophthalmic lenses with specific parameters, allowing for accelerated development and testing of lens designs that can reduce or prevent myopia progression and other ocular conditions, by incorporating accommodative error data into the design process.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If clinical studies are conducted to determine lens effectiveness for conditions like myopia progression, then treatment efficacy can be assessed, but the time required becomes excessively long (several months or years)

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetreatment efficacy assessmentVSAvoidtime required for clinical studies
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by measuring accommodative error before lens fitting and using this measurement to predict treatment effectiveness in advance. This allows lens designers to select appropriate lens designs based on pre-treatment accommodative error data, eliminating the need for lengthy post-treatment clinical studies to determine efficacy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces the lengthy clinical study process with a direct measurement approach. Instead of observing myopia progression over months or years through clinical studies, the invention uses accommodative error measurement as a surrogate marker that can be quickly and accurately measured to predict treatment effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Productivity

If lens designs are quickly tested for visual acuity correction, then design refinement is rapid, but treatment effects for conditions like myopia progression cannot be evaluated

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelens design testing speedVSAvoidtreatment effect evaluation
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces accommodative error as an intermediary measurement that serves as a surrogate marker for myopia progression. This intermediary allows rapid lens design testing while maintaining reliability, because accommodative error measurement provides a direct indicator of treatment effectiveness without requiring lengthy observation of actual myopia progression.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Loss of time

If accommodative error measurement is used to select lens designs, then development time is significantly reduced, but measurement accuracy must be high to ensure treatment effectiveness

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvelens development timeVSAvoidaccommodative error measurement accuracy
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements feedback by using accommodative error measurement to guide lens design selection and then verifying the treatment effect through follow-up accommodative error measurement. This feedback loop ensures that rapid development is achieved without sacrificing accuracy, as the measurement process itself becomes part of the verification mechanism.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS8696118B2Use of accommodative error measurements in providing ophthalmic lenses
Publication Date: 2014.04.15 COOPERVISION INT LTD

AI summary

Methods of making or providing ophthalmic lenses include using accommodative error measurements in the design or selection of one or more ophthalmic lenses. In some examples, the ophthalmic lenses are contact lenses.