Melting meibomian gland obstructions
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An apparatus that provides regulated heat for treatment of a mammalian eyelid, comprising:
- a heater unit having a heating element that produces heat when electrical signal is applied thereto;
a temperature regulator that applies the electrical signal to the heating element in order to achieve heating of the heating element to a specified temperature range; and
an eyelid interfacing mechanism that couples the heater unit into contact with the eyelid to achieve regulated heating of the eyelid within the specified temperature range.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Consistent with certain embodiments, an apparatus provides regulated heat to at least one of a patient'"'"'s eyelids, using a heater unit having a heating element that produces heat that is transferred to the patient'"'"'s eyelid when an electrical signal is applied thereto. A temperature regulator applies an electrical signal to the heating elements in order to achieve heating of the heating elements to a specified temperature range. This abstract is not to be considered limiting, since other embodiments may deviate from the features described in this abstract.
153 Citations
90 Claims
-
1. An apparatus that provides regulated heat for treatment of a mammalian eyelid, comprising:
-
a heater unit having a heating element that produces heat when electrical signal is applied thereto;
a temperature regulator that applies the electrical signal to the heating element in order to achieve heating of the heating element to a specified temperature range; and
an eyelid interfacing mechanism that couples the heater unit into contact with the eyelid to achieve regulated heating of the eyelid within the specified temperature range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 39)
-
-
30. An apparatus that provides regulated heat to at least one of a patient'"'"'s eyelids, comprising:
-
a heater unit having;
a heating element having first and second surfaces that produces heat when an electrical signal is applied thereto;
a thermal heat sink, coupled to the first surface of the heating element in order to transfer heat from the heating element to the eyelid;
an insulator coupled to the second surface of the heating element in order to reduce heat loss from the second surface; and
a back plate that couples to the insulator;
a temperature regulator that applies the electrical signal to the heating element in order to achieve heating of the heating elements to a specified temperature range;
goggles suitable for attaching to the patient'"'"'s head and covering the eyelid of the patient with a lenspiece, the lenspiece having a threaded aperture therein; and
a threaded shaft passing through the threaded lenspiece and coupled to the heater unit at the back plate so that the heater unit can be moved into contact with the eyelid by screwing the shaft into the aperture until contact with the eyelid is achieved. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51)
-
-
52. An apparatus that provides regulated heat to at least one of a patient'"'"'s eyelids, comprising:
-
a heater unit having a resistive heating element that produces heat that is transferred to the patient'"'"'s eyelid when an electrical signal is applied thereto; and
a temperature regulator that applies the electrical signal to the heating elements in order to achieve heating of the heating elements to a specified temperature range. - View Dependent Claims (53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73)
-
-
74. A method of treating at least one of a patient'"'"'s eyelids with a regulated heat, comprising:
-
placing a heating unit having a heating element in contact with the patient'"'"'s eyelid; and
applying a control signal to the heating element to generate heat at the heating element and transfer the generated heat to the eyelid for a prescribed time period. - View Dependent Claims (75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87)
-
-
88. A method of treating a mammalian eyelid, comprising heating the eyelid and maintaining a prescribed temperature for at least 4 minutes and no more than 60 minutes, while simultaneously applying mechanical energy and pressure to the eyelid.
-
89. A method of treating at least one mammalian eyelid, comprising applying continuous regulated heat to the at least one mammalian eyelid for a duration no longer than 60 minutes and applying a force to the eyelid during heating or within 3 minutes following heating for the purpose of clearing meibomian gland obstructions.
-
90. An apparatus for providing the controlled application of heat to the eyelid of a mammal comprising:
-
a heater unit having a means to produce heat in a specified temperature range;
an eyelid interfacing mechanism that couples the heater unit into contact with the eyelid; and
a means for adjusting the contact of the heater unit with the eyelid.
-
Specification