Wearable Stye Patch with Sealed Moisture Chamber
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stye treatments using compresses are painful and inconvenient, requiring constant heating or cooling of cloths, which can lead to prolonged illness due to discomfort and the risk of fluid discharge, causing patients to miss work and avoid treatment.
Innovation Solution
A wearable eye patch with a sealed, waterproof cup and flexible strap that maintains a sealed chamber around the eye, using removable moisture pads and a heating or cooling element that applies temperature with minimal pressure, eliminating the need for constant heating or cooling of cloths and reducing discomfort.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a warm or cold compress is applied to the stye area, then the stye treatment effectiveness is improved, but the patient experiences pain and discomfort due to pressure on the eye
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible, conformable compress device that can gently adapt to the eye contour without applying excessive pressure. The flexible nature of the compress allows it to maintain contact with the stye area while distributing force evenly, reducing pain and discomfort during treatment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables parameter changes in temperature by providing mechanisms to adjust the warmth or coldness of the compress. This allows optimization of treatment effectiveness through temperature control while maintaining comfortable pressure levels, resolving the contradiction between treatment efficacy and patient comfort.
2Reliability
If a warm or cold compress is applied to the stye area, then the stye treatment effectiveness is improved, but the treatment process becomes time-consuming and inconvenient due to the need to continually heat or cool water and cloths
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates pre-heated or pre-cooled compress components that are ready for immediate application. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for patients to spend time heating or cooling water and cloths during treatment, significantly reducing the time loss while maintaining treatment effectiveness.
Solution Approach 2:
The compress device is designed to maintain its temperature independently through integrated heating or cooling mechanisms, eliminating the need for patients to continuously replenish hot or cold water. The self-regulating temperature capability reduces both time investment and the inconvenience of manual re-heating or re-cooling.
3Temperature
If pressure is applied to the stye area to communicate heat or cold, then the temperature treatment effectiveness is improved, but the patient avoids treatment due to the pain caused by pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible compress design allows gentle contact with the eye area, distributing pressure evenly across a larger surface rather than concentrating it on a small point. This flexibility enables effective temperature transmission while maintaining patient comfort and compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The compress device incorporates dynamic pressure control mechanisms that can adjust the applied force based on patient response. This dynamic adjustment ensures sufficient pressure for effective temperature treatment while preventing excessive pressure that would cause pain and discourage patient compliance.
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
Enables effective, pain-free application of heat or cold with moisture to the stye, reducing treatment time and inconvenience, allowing patients to maintain their schedule while treating the condition without the mess and discomfort of traditional methods.
Implementation Method 1
The warmth communicated to the eye, combined with dampness, encourages the stye to drain
Implementation Method 2
a cold compress combined with moisture will generally discourage or prevent more swelling of the eyelid
Implementation Method 3
concurrently provide the patient's eye with a temperature treatment such as hot or cold compresses, at limited contact pressure and with moisture
Data Source
AI summary
A stye treatment device for concurrent application of temperature and moisture to a stye. The device features a moisture component positioned in a central cavity formed in a sealing edge extending from the rear surface of an eyecup. A temperature component is positioned in the cavity rearward of the moisture component in a position to contact a stye when the device is biased by a strap to the face of the user. The device, when worn by the user, may impart either heat or cold temperature treatments and humidity or moisture treatment concurrently. Excessive pressure against the user's stye and eye is prevented by forming the moisture component of material adapted to collapse should the temperature component contact the face of the user under too much pressure which might otherwise cause pain.