Remote Eye Exam System Using Phoropter Control and Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current remote eye examination technologies lack comprehensive assessment capabilities, failing to identify ocular health issues beyond refractive errors, and often operate without proper medical guidance, potentially leading to undiagnosed conditions and adverse effects.
Innovation Solution
A system that enables remote comprehensive eye examinations by an ophthalmologist or optometrist, using video conferencing and phoropter control, where an ophthalmic technician conducts local tests and transmits data for review by a skilled professional, ensuring comprehensive evaluations, including refractive analysis and ocular health assessments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If refraction-based systems are used for remote eye testing, then convenience and accessibility are improved, but comprehensive ocular health assessment capability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the eye examination process into two distinct segments: (1) local execution of comprehensive eye exams by technicians using standard ophthalmic equipment, and (2) remote review and interpretation of results by physicians. This segmentation allows the system to maintain comprehensive assessment capabilities while enabling remote delivery of services, thus resolving the contradiction between convenience and comprehensiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary layer consisting of local technicians who perform examinations and transmit data to remote physicians for interpretation. This intermediary structure enables patients to receive comprehensive eye exams remotely without requiring the physician to be physically present, thereby maintaining both convenience and comprehensive assessment capability.
2Measurement precision
If skilled ophthalmologists and optometrists are required to be on-site, then comprehensive evaluation quality is improved, but system complexity and operational difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts the physician's interpretive function from the physical examination environment and relocates it to a remote setting. Local technicians perform all hands-on examinations using standard equipment, while physicians remotely review transmitted data and provide interpretations. This extraction eliminates the need for physicians to be physically present, reducing system complexity while preserving evaluation quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates digital copies of patient eye data through comprehensive imaging and measurement devices, which are then transmitted to remote physicians for review. These digital copies enable physicians to perform thorough evaluations without being physically present at the examination location, thereby maintaining evaluation quality while simplifying system operations.
3Ease of operation
If refraction devices are used without medical guidance, then accessibility is improved, but diagnostic reliability for ocular diseases deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary comprehensive eye examinations and data collection locally by technicians before remote physician review. This preliminary action ensures that all necessary diagnostic data is gathered with proper technique and equipment, maintaining diagnostic reliability while enabling remote delivery and improving accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback loop where local technicians perform examinations, transmit results to remote physicians, receive interpretations and diagnoses, and then communicate findings back to patients. This feedback mechanism ensures that diagnostic reliability is maintained through professional medical review while preserving the accessibility benefits of remote delivery.
Data Source
AI summary
An ophthalmic technician is present with a patient in an exam room to operate eye examination equipment and transmit patient information to remote location. At that remote location, a skilled technician is present to provide the necessary optical care, and may operate the phoropter from the remote location. Using video and/or teleconferencing equipment and a phoropter located in the patient examination room along with management software, the system works to determine the final optical prescription for the patient. That information, coupled with findings from other devices which are integrated with the management software, and that the patient uses locally, are reviewed by a remote-based optometrist or ophthalmologist.