IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,642,429
Granted Patent B2
US 12,642,429 · App. 18/501,380 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Tear meniscus detection and evaluation system

Inventors: Joshua Park (Riverside, CA); Rehan Ahmed (Riverside, CA); Douglas Suitt (Riverside, CA)
Assignee: Globe Biomedical, Inc.
A61B3/101A61B3/0025A61B3/18A61B2560/0406A61B2576/02
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,642,429
App. No.
18/501,380
Filed
Nov 3, 2023
Granted
Jun 2, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
2872
USPC
351/209
Abstract

A spectacles-mounted ophthalmic monitoring system may include a spectacles frame comprising a left rim and a right rim, an image sensor coupled with the spectacles frame to capture images of a field of view of an eye, and a processor. The processor may be configured to activate the image sensor to capture an image of the field of view, and identify a height of a tear film meniscus within the field of view of one or more images within the series of images.

Claims (64)

1 . An ophthalmic monitoring system comprising:

an eyeglasses frame comprising a left rim and a right rim, at least one of one of the left rim and the right rim comprising a sensor enclosure oriented toward an eye of a wearer when the eyeglasses frame is worn;

an image sensor disposed in the sensor enclosure to capture images of an eye from within the sensor enclosure; and

a processor configured to:

activate the image sensor to capture a plurality of images of the eye;

detect a first state in which the eyeglasses frame is being worn;

detect a second state in which the eyeglasses frame has been removed from a head of the wearer;

tag a first image of the plurality of images captured by the image sensor, the first image being captured at a first time when the first state is detected and before the detection of the second state indicating that the eyeglasses frame has been removed from the head of the wearer;

tag a second image of the plurality of images captured by the image sensor, the second image being captured at a second time after the second state has been detected and after the first state is once again detected after the second state is detected;

determine a pre-drop average tear film height by analyzing images from the image sensor during a period of time including the first time but prior to the second time; and

determine an eyedrop effect by determining a second tear film height by analyzing the second image that is tagged and comparing the second tear film height with the pre-drop average tear film height.

2 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to detect the first state by analyzing a signal of the image sensor to locate one or more boundaries of a sclera of the eye, the one or more boundaries of the sclera forming a portion of a tear film boundary.

3 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , further comprising an environmental sensor, wherein the environmental sensor comprises one of: an inertial sensor, an ambient light sensor, a relative humidity sensor, or a temperature sensor.

4 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , further comprising an environmental sensor directed at the wearer, wherein the processor is configured to determine time spent outdoors based on a signal of the environmental sensor.

5 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on output of the image sensor, at least one of: time spent wearing an eyepatch, time spent wearing the eyeglasses frame, time spent observing a light-emitting screen, or time spent observing a near-field object.

6 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to:

segment the second image into an eye portion and a background portion;

identify, within the eye portion, a location of a lower eyelid;

identify, within the eye portion, an upper edge of a tear film meniscus; and

determine a height of the tear film meniscus based on the location of the lower eyelid and a location of the upper edge of the tear film meniscus.

7 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on output of the image sensor, a presence of a reflection of a light-emitting screen on the eye.

8 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to:

determine, based on the output of the image sensor, a type of light-emitting screen being viewed; and

generate output representing the type of the light-emitting screen.

9 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 8 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the output representing the type of the light-emitting screen, time spent observing one or more light-emitting screens of the type of the light-emitting screen.

10 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to:

determine an interpupillary distance based on output of the image sensor;

determine, based on the interpupillary distance, a distance of a wearer from a near-field object; and

generate output representing the distance of the wearer from the near-field object.

11 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the output representing the distance of the wearer from the near-field object, time spent observing the near-field object, wherein the near-field object comprises one of: a light emitting screen or a book.

12 . An ophthalmic monitoring system comprising:

an eyeglasses frame comprising a left rim and a right rim, at least one of one of the left rim and the right rim comprising a sensor enclosure oriented toward an eye of a wearer when the eyeglasses frame is worn;

an image sensor disposed in the sensor enclosure to capture images of an eye from within the sensor enclosure; and

a processor configured to:

activate the image sensor to capture a plurality of images of the eye;

detect a first state in which the eyeglasses frame is being worn;

detect a second state in which the eyeglasses frame has been removed from a head of the wearer;

tag a first image of the plurality of images captured by the image sensor, the first image being captured at a first time when the first state is detected and before the detection of the second state indicating that the eyeglasses frame has been removed from the head of the wearer;

tag a second image of the plurality of images captured by the image sensor, the second image being captured at a second time after the second state has been detected and after the first state is once again detected after the second state is detected;

segment the second image into an eye portion and a background portion;

identify, within the eye portion, a location of a lower eyelid;

identify, within the eye portion, an upper edge of a tear film meniscus; and

determine a height of the tear film meniscus based on the location of the lower eyelid and a location of the upper edge of the tear film meniscus.

13 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 12 , further comprising an environmental sensor, wherein the environmental sensor comprises one of: an inertial sensor, an ambient light sensor, a relative humidity sensor, or a temperature sensor.

14 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 12 , further comprising an environmental sensor directed at the wearer, wherein the processor is configured to determine time spent outdoors based on a signal of the environmental sensor.

15 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on output of the image sensor, at least one of: time spent wearing an eyepatch, time spent wearing the eyeglasses frame, time spent observing a light-emitting screen, or time spent observing a near-field object.

16 . An ophthalmic monitoring system comprising:

an eyeglasses frame comprising a left rim and a right rim, at least one of one of the left rim and the right rim comprising a sensor enclosure oriented toward an eye of a wearer when the eyeglasses frame is worn;

an image sensor disposed in the sensor enclosure to capture images of an eye from within the sensor enclosure; and

a processor configured to:

activate the image sensor to capture a plurality of images of the eye;

detect a first state in which the eyeglasses frame is being worn;

detect a second state in which the eyeglasses frame has been removed from a head of the wearer;

tag a first image of the plurality of images captured by the image sensor, the first image being captured at a first time when the first state is detected and before the detection of the second state indicating that the eyeglasses frame has been removed from the head of the wearer;

tag a second image of the plurality of images captured by the image sensor, the second image being captured at a second time after the second state has been detected and after the first state is once again detected after the second state is detected;

determine an interpupillary distance based on output of the image sensor;

determine, based on the interpupillary distance, a distance of a wearer from a near-field object; and

generate output representing the distance of the wearer from the near-field object.

17 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 16 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on output of the image sensor, a presence of a reflection of a light-emitting screen on the eye.

18 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is configured to:

determine, based on the output of the image sensor, a type of light-emitting screen being viewed; and

generate output representing the type of the light-emitting screen.

19 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 18 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the output representing the type of the light-emitting screen, time spent observing one or more light-emitting screens of the type of the light-emitting screen.

20 . The ophthalmic monitoring system of claim 18 , wherein the processor is configured to determine, based on the output representing the distance of the wearer from the near-field object, time spent observing the near-field object, wherein the near-field object comprises one of: a light emitting screen or a book.

Continuity (4)
Continuation 18309662 · Apr 28, 2023
Provisional Application 63337109 · May 1, 2022
Provisional Application 63337105 · May 1, 2022
Related Publication 20240335106A1 · Oct 10, 2024
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