Visual Axis Location Using Chromatic Dot Merging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for improving vision, such as customized laser refractive surgery and wavefront-guided contact lenses, face challenges in precisely locating the visual axis on the corneal surface, as there is no straightforward way to identify where the visual axis intersects across the conical surface.
Innovation Solution
A method and apparatus that illuminate a light source pinhole with multiple wavelengths, project an image of the pinhole through a translatable pinhole and the pupil onto the retina, and adjust the pinhole position until two dots merge into one, indicating the intersection of the visual axis with the cornea or contact lens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional methods are used to locate the visual axis on the corneal surface, then the procedure is simple, but the measurement precision is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses light of different wavelengths (colors) to illuminate the light source pinhole and creates corresponding colored dots on the retina. By detecting the relative positions of these colored dots and adjusting their alignment, the system precisely locates the visual axis. The use of multiple wavelengths enables accurate visual axis detection through chromatic aberration characteristics, resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs a feedback mechanism where the positions of multiple colored dots on the retina are detected, and the translatable pinhole is adjusted until the dots align along a straight line. This iterative adjustment process, guided by real-time position detection feedback, enables precise visual axis localization while managing the complexity of the apparatus through automated control.
2Reliability
If the visual axis is not precisely located, then the correction application is simpler, but the reliability of vision correction outcomes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the wavelength parameter of illumination light to create multiple colored dots on the retina. By analyzing the spatial relationships between these dots and adjusting the translatable pinhole position, the system achieves precise visual axis localization. This parameter-based approach ensures reliable vision correction outcomes by accurately identifying the visual axis intersection point on the corneal surface.
3Measurement precision
If multiple wavelengths are used to illuminate the light source pinhole, then the measurement precision improves, but the use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses multiple wavelengths of light to illuminate the light source pinhole, which improves measurement precision by creating distinct colored dots on the retina. However, to manage energy consumption, the system uses relatively low-power LEDs as light sources and employs optical components (lenses, mirrors, beam splitters) to efficiently direct and utilize the light, ensuring that the energy input is minimized while still achieving the necessary measurement precision.
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 allows for precise location of the visual axis on the corneal surface, enhancing the accuracy of vision correction methods by ensuring that corrections are applied at the optimal point, thereby improving outcomes and reducing adverse visual symptoms.
Implementation Method 1
illuminating a light source pinhole by a light including at least two different wavelengths; projecting an image of the light source pinhole through a translatable pinhole and through a pupil of the eye onto a retina of the eye
Implementation Method 2
An optical assembly is about aligned with the main optical axis. A lens can be disposed on the main optical axis between the light source pinhole and the translatable pinhole
Data Source
AI summary
A method to find a visual axis of an eye includes illuminating a light source pinhole by a light including at least two different wavelengths; projecting an image of the light source pinhole through a translatable pinhole and through a pupil of the eye onto a retina of the eye; generating a projected image of the translatable pinhole on an anterior surface of the eye or a contact lens; adjusting a position of the translatable pinhole in a plane about parallel to a plane of a cornea of the eye until two different dots viewed on the retina merge into one dot; and indicating by the projected image of the translatable pinhole a location of where the visual axis of the eye intersects the cornea or the contact lens. An apparatus to measure a visual axis of an eye is also described.