Non-invasive ocular assessment method and associated apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring a medical condition including a toxin in a subject comprisingadministering a chemical substance to said subject, impinging light on a subject'"'"'s eye, directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor, converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals, delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition including a biomarker related to said toxin, and effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of monitoring a subject for medical conditions includes causing light to impinge on at least one eye of the subject, directing reflected light from such light beam to photosensors, converting the received reflected light to corresponding electrical signals which are delivered to a processor. Processing the signals by effecting a comparison between stored information regarding the medical condition and the data provided by the monitoring to determine if an undesired medical condition exists and, if so, communicating such result. The cycle is repeated at predetermined intervals which may be short or prolonged. The stored information may be information relating to the specific subject or general information regarding normal and abnormal conditions of the eye representative of toxicity. The eyes may be monitored sequentially or simultaneously. Related apparatus is provided.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring a medical condition including a toxin in a subject comprising
administering a chemical substance to said subject, impinging light on a subject'"'"'s eye, directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor, converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals, delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition including a biomarker related to said toxin, and effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event.
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13. A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising
administering a chemical substance to said subject, impinging light on a subject'"'"'s eye, directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor, converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals, delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition, effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event, employing a toxin sensitive chemical substance as said chemical substance, and administering said toxin sensitive chemical substance by injection.
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14. A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising
administering a chemical substance to said subject, impinging light on a subject'"'"'s eye, directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor, converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals, delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition, effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event, employing a toxin sensitive chemical substance as said chemical substance, and administering said toxin sensitive chemical substance topically to the surface of the eye or its surrounding tissues.
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15. A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising
administering a chemical substance to said subject, impinging light on a subject'"'"'s eye, directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor, converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals, delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition, effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event, on the basis of said monitoring determining a likely toxic cause of said undesirable medical condition, employing a toxin-sensitive chemical substance as said chemical substance, and said toxin sensitive chemical substance responsive to the existence of a predetermined level of said toxin will effect a visually perceptible change in the eye so as to permit said determination to be made.
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16. A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising
administering a chemical substance to said subject, impinging light on a subject'"'"'s eye, directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor, converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals, delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition, effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event, and employing fluorescein as said chemical substance.
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17. Apparatus for monitoring a medical condition including a toxin in a subject comprising
a light source for directing light onto at least one eye of said subject, sensor means for receiving reflected light from said eye and converting said light into corresponding electrical signals, a processor for receiving said electrical signals, said processor having stored information regarding desired parameters of said medical condition including a biomarker related to said toxin, and said processor having the capability of effecting a comparison of information obtained from said electric signals with said stored information and emitting a determination of said comparison as to whether said medical condition exists or not.
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23. The apparatus of clam 22 including
said support including a chin support and at least one head restraint.
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33. Apparatus for monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising
a light source for directing light onto at least one eye of said subject, sensor means for receiving reflected light from said eye and converting said light into corresponding electrical signals, a processor for receiving said electrical signals, said processor having stored information regarding desired parameters of said medical condition, said processor having the capability of effecting a comparison of information obtained from said electric signals with said stored information and emitting a determination of said comparison as to whether said medical condition exists or not, and said stored information including information regarding toxic thresholds of at least one material selected from the group consisting of heavy metals, neurotoxins, organophosphates, fertilizers and pesticides and changes in the eye created by exceeding one more of said thresholds.
Specification