Patent Application Titled “Computerized Refraction And Astigmatism Determination” Published Online (USPTO 20230118575): Patent Application

2023 MAY 09 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Washington, D.C., by NewsRx journalists, a patent application by the inventors Dallek, Aaron (Chicago, IL, US); Lee, Steven P. (Chicago, IL, US), filed on October 20, 2022, was made available online on April 20, 2023.

No assignee for this patent application has been made.

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “The present disclosure is generally related to determining a glasses and/or a contacts prescription for a patient with a refractive error in need of correction. Many people have refractive errors of the eye which cause them to be either myopic (commonly known as nearsightedness) or hypermetropic (commonly known as farsightedness). One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that myopia refers to a refractive defect of the optical properties of an eye that causes images to focus forward of the retina (i.e. a refractive error). Those optical defects are typically caused by, among other things, defects of the cornea, elongation of the eye structure, other conditions, or a combination of those conditions. Hyperopia, on the other hand, refers a refractive error of the optical properties of an eye that causes images to focus behind the retina. Those optical defects are the result when the optics of the eye are not strong enough for the front to back length of the eye. Myopia and hyperopia have one component, a sphere measurement, which indicates the strength or power necessary to correct for the optical defects.

“Astigmatism refers to a refractive error that causes light entering the eye to focus on two points rather than one. It is caused by an uneven power of the cornea. An astigmatism has two components, an axis measurement, which indicates the angle along which any image viewed by the patient is distorted, and a cylinder measurement, which indicates the strength or power of the distortion. Myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism are the principle refractive errors that cause patients to seek treatment to correct their vision problems.

“A manifest refraction analysis is a diagnostic tool used by ophthalmologists and optometrists whereby a patient’s refractive error is tested to indicate whether the patient would benefit from correction with glasses or contact lenses. As part of that technique, a patient looks through a phoropter while the ophthalmologist or optometrist evaluates each of the patient’s eyes. A retinal reflex diagnosis technique is often used to assess the magnitude of the refractive error present in the patient’s eyes. Subjective feedback from the patient is used to refine the manifest refraction, which involves the patient making choices between image quality as different lenses having different powers are slid into place in the phoropter. These refractive errors can be corrected with lenses, typically spectacle lenses, known as glasses, or contact lenses, which are applied directly to the eye. They can also be corrected with various types of surgery. At the end of the manifest refraction analysis, the ophthalmologist or optometrist may produce a prescription for glasses, contact lenses, and/or refractive surgery.

“Other methods for determining the refractive error of a patient include known diagnostic devices such wavefront sensors, refractometers, and others that are well known in the art. Some of these diagnostic devices use computers to assist in determining the refractive error of the patient. For example, one implementation of a wavefront-type refractor that is well known in the art uses a “Hartmann-Shack” sensor to measure the wavefront of a light beam generated from an illumination spot projected on the retina and passed through the eye’s optics. In such a wavefront type refractor, a probe beam from a laser or a super-luminescent diode is projected onto the retina through the eye’s optics. Light scattered by the retina passes through the eye’s optics, and emerges through the eye’s pupil. The wavefront of the emerging beam carries refractive information relating to the eye’s optics. For example, if the eye is emmetropic (i.e., the eye’s optics are without refractive error), the wavefront of the emerging beam should be flat. Relay optics relay the wavefront emerging from eye’s pupil onto the Hartmann-Shack sensor. The Hartmann-Shack sensor measures the distortion of the wavefront and provides that information to a computer to compute the refractive errors of the eye due to aberrations of the eye’s optics.

“Each of the above-described techniques for determining a patient’s refractive error requires the patient to travel to a place where such machines or doctors are present and available to perform the determination. And, having traveled to a doctor’s office, a patient then has to pay for the time and services of the doctor, which may or may not be covered by their health insurance. This can be both expensive and inconvenient for a patient.

“For a patient who desires contacts, a second charge generally applies for a “fitting.” This charge is frequently unnecessary because most contacts manufacturers only offer one or a few base curve and diameter combinations, meaning there is only one or a few possible “fits” for that contact. When a patient has worn contacts before and is comfortable in their previous brand, there is no need to perform a “fitting.” Despite this, it is commonly required by doctor’s offices that a “fitting” be performed, and the accompanying fee charged. Health insurance seldom covers this fee. In some cases, the doctor may require that the patient make another, separate office visit to have their “fitting.” Therefore, determining a contacts prescription can be even more expensive and inconvenient for a patient.

“In addition, the cost of the above described machinery (phoropter, wavefront refractor, etc.) is prohibitive to ownership by an individual not engaged in a medical practice, so patients do not have the option of determining their own glasses or contacts prescription outside of a medical practice setting.

“Furthermore, in-office subjective astigmatism tests generally only determine a patient’s axis prescription within 10° of accuracy.

“Thus, there exists a need for a more convenient, less costly, more accurate way for patients to determine and receive glasses and contacts prescriptions.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent application, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent application: “The present disclosure relates generally to a system and method for determining the refractive error of a patient, more particularly determining the patient’s refractive error by using a computerized screen or other suitable visual tool, and without the use of a refractor lens assembly, and providing the patient with a corrective lenses prescription for the patient’s preferred type of corrective lenses. The system and method do not require the trip or expense of a doctor visit, and are optimized for convenience and cost effectiveness.

“In a general embodiment, the present disclosure provides a method for determining a corrective lenses prescription of a patient. The method includes, separately, for each eye of the patient, determining the astigmatism prescription of the patient via a computerized screen without the use of a refractor lens assembly.

“In an embodiment, determining the astigmatism prescription of the patient via the computerized screen and without the use of a refractor lens assembly includes testing for a cylinder component and an axis component at the same time by presenting at least one diagram to the patient via the computerized screen and enabling the patient to select at least one input per diagram. The at least one input per diagram corresponds to a cylinder measurement and an axis measurement used to determine the cylinder component and the axis component of the corrective lenses prescription for the patient.

“In a further embodiment, the cylinder component is based, at least in part, on the cylinder measurements from the at least one input per diagram. In another further embodiment, the axis component is based, at least in part, on the axis measurements from the at least one input per diagram.

“In a further embodiment, presenting the at least one diagram includes sequentially presenting at least two diagrams having at least two portions. In another further embodiment, the at least two diagrams differ from each other by at least the spacing between the at least two portions. In a still further embodiment, the at least two diagrams are the same diagram.

“In a further embodiment, the method includes determining a pupillary distance measurement for the patient based on a known canthal distance (based on an age and a gender of the patient) and at least one calibration data point.

“In an embodiment, the method is provided via an interne.

“In an embodiment, the method includes sending the determined cylinder component and the determined axis component of the corrective lenses prescription for the patient to at least one doctor for review and approval.

“In another further embodiment, the method includes determining a sphere component of the corrective lenses prescription for the patient via the computerized screen. The method includes (i) presenting a first figure to a patient via the computerized screen. The first figure is too small to be clearly seen by the patient. The method further includes (ii) enabling the patient to make at least one input to increase the size of the first figure until it can just barely be made out by the patient. The at least one input corresponds to a first sphere measurement.

“In a still further embodiment, the method includes (iii) presenting a second figure to a patient via the computerized screen. The second figure is large enough to be clearly seen by the patient. The method (iv) enables the patient to make at least one input to decrease the size of the second figure just until it can no longer be made out by the patient. The at least one input corresponds to a second sphere measurement.

“In another further embodiment, the method includes determining a final sphere measurement based, at least in part, on the first sphere measurement and the second sphere measurement. In yet another further embodiment, the method includes repeating at least one of steps (i) and (ii), or steps (iii) and (iv) at least once.

“In a further embodiment, the method includes that the computerized screen is located a distance from the patient, in a kiosk. In another further embodiment, the method includes instructing the patient to take a determined number of heel-to-toe steps from the computerized screen to reach the distance. In a still further embodiment, the determination of the number of heel-to-toe steps is based on at least a shoe size of the patient.

“In another further embodiment, determining the corrective lenses prescription for the patient is based, in part, on a previous corrective lenses prescription for the patient.

“In another embodiment, the present disclosure provides a non-transitory computer readable medium. The non-transitory computer readable medium includes a plurality of instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with at least one display device, at least one memory device, and at least one input device to determine a corrective lenses prescription of the patient without the use of a refractor lens assembly. The corrective lenses prescription comprises an astigmatism prescription and a power. The non-transitory computer readable medium determines the corrective lenses prescription of the patient by, for each eye of the patient, determining the astigmatism prescription of the patient. The non-transitory computer readable medium determines the astigmatism prescription of the patient by presenting at least one diagram to the patient via a computerized screen (without the use of a refractor lens assembly) and enabling the patient to select at least one input per diagram. The patient-selected input corresponds to a cylinder measurement and an axis measurement used to determine the corrective lenses prescription for the patient. The non-transitory computer readable medium further determines the corrective lenses prescription of the patient by, for each eye of the patient, determining the power of the corrective lenses prescription of the patient. The non-transitory computer readable medium determines the power of the prescription by presenting a first figure to a patient via the computerized screen. The first figure is too small to be clearly seen by the patient. The non-transitory computer readable medium further determines the power of the prescription by enabling the patient to make at least one input to increase the size of the first figure until it can just barely be made out by the patient. The at least one input corresponds to a first sphere measurement. The non-transitory computer readable medium further determines the power of the prescription by presenting a second figure to a patient via the computerized screen. The second figure is large enough to be clearly seen by the patient. The non-transitory computer readable medium further determines the power of the prescription by enabling the patient to make at least one input to decrease the size of the second figure just until it can no longer be made out by the patient. The at least one input corresponds to a second sphere measurement. The non-transitory computer readable medium determines a final sphere measurement based, at least in part, on the first sphere measurement and the second sphere measurement.

“In a further embodiment, the non-transitory computer readable medium presenting at least one diagram to the patient further includes presenting at least two diagrams. The at least two diagrams each include at least two portions. The at least two diagrams differ from each other by at least the spacing between the at least two portions.

“In another further embodiment, the non-transitory computer readable medium further determines a pupillary distance measurement for the patient based on a known canthal distance based on an age and a gender of the patient and at least one calibration data point.

“In a further embodiment, the non-transitory computer readable medium further includes sending the determined corrective lenses prescription to at least one doctor for review and approval.

“An advantage of the present disclosure is to provide a patient more convenience in determining and receiving a glasses and/or contacts prescription.

“An advantage of the present disclosure is to reduce the cost and expense to the patient of determining and receiving a glasses and/or contacts prescription.

“Another advantage of the present disclosure is to determine a glasses and/or contacts prescription without the need for expensive equipment only feasible for use in a doctor office.

“Another advantage of the present disclosure is to determine a glasses and/or contacts prescription without placing lenses or a lens assembly before the eyes of the patient.

“Still another advantage of the present disclosure is to more quickly determine a glasses and/or contacts prescription.

“A further advantage of the present disclosure is to more accurately determine the axis and cylinder astigmatism prescriptions of a patient.

“Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the figures.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1: A non-transitory computer readable medium including a plurality of instructions, which when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with a remote terminal and a handheld terminal to determine a corrective lenses prescription for a patient by: receive, in an online portal, a first message to begin a session from the remote terminal; responsive to the first message, start the session; receive, in the online portal, patient information including a prior corrective lenses prescription; receive, in the online portal, a second message including an electronic address of the handheld terminal; transmit a message to the handheld terminal using the electronic address, the message including a link to the session; receive, in the online portal, a connection request from the handheld terminal; associate the handheld terminal and the remote terminal with the same session after receiving the connection request; use the prior corrective lenses prescription to select eye examination diagrams for the session, the eye examination diagrams associated with corresponding input interfaces; during the session, cause the eye examination diagrams to be sequentially displayed by the remote terminal while causing the corresponding input interfaces to be displayed by the handheld terminal; during the session, receive at least one input from the input interface displayed by the handheld terminal and associate the received at least one input to the currently displayed eye examination diagram; determine the corrective lenses prescription using the received inputs in relation to the corresponding eye examination diagrams; and transmit information to the handheld terminal or the remote terminal that is indicative of the eye examination diagram.”

For more information, see this patent application: Dallek, Aaron; Lee, Steven P. Computerized Refraction And Astigmatism Determination. U.S. Patent Application Number 20230118575, filed October 20, 2022 and posted April 20, 2023. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(20230118575)&db=US-PGPUB&type=ids

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