ES1264174U - CASE FOR OPHTHALMOLOGICAL EXAMINING LENSES (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Case (100) for ophthalmic examination lenses (10), comprising: - a housing (20) formed by walls (25) and a thermal insulating material (30) that define an interior space (40) suitable for housing examination lenses (10) and keeping them at a certain temperature; and - heating means (50) suitable for heating the interior space (40) of the casing (20) to the determined temperature, characterized in that the casing (20) further comprises - a means (60) for accessing the interior space (40) for inserting therein or extracting from it at least one scanning lens (10), the access means (60) comprising at least one tray (70) adapted to support therein at least one scanning lens (10), said tray (70) being rotatably mounted on the housing (20) between a storage position, in which the scanning lens (10) remains in the interior space (40) of the housing (20), and an extraction position, in which the scanning lens (10) is at least partially on the outside of the housing (20). (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

DESCRIPTION

CASE FOR OPHTHALMOLOGICAL EXAMINING LENSES

The present description refers to an ophthalmic examination lens case that prevents the lenses from fogging up during use, especially for people wearing a mask. The present description is not limited, however, to this particular application and may be used in other fields of the art.

BACKGROUND

To carry out an ophthalmological examination of the fundus, biconvex lenses are used that are placed in front of and at a very short distance from the eye to be explored. Once the proper lens is in place, a professional examiner uses a microscope and light from a slit lamp to view the fundus through the lens. The lens is manipulated by the explorer at a variable distance and tilt depending on his technique and preferences.

The convenient and mandatory use of masks as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic has made fundus examination operations difficult, mainly due to the fogging of the examination lenses caused by the difference in temperature between the breathing air, which escapes through the upper edges of the mask, and the lens surface, which is at a lower temperature. When the breathing air comes into contact with the lens, condensation is produced on the lens surface, generating a fogging of the glass that makes exploration difficult. The degree of fogging of the examination lenses depends on the temperature and humidity of the room where the examination is carried out, as well as the fit of the upper part of the mask to the face of the person being examined.

In addition to the problem of fogging of the examination lenses, the expired air that comes into contact with the examination lens can cause contamination of the same with germs that cause airborne diseases, among others, the covid To try to solve at least partially the problem of the fogging of the examination lenses, devices have been designed to be attached to the examination lenses to create a barrier between the exhaled air and the examination lens.

However, despite the fact that such known barrier devices reduce the problem of fogging of examination lenses, they have been found to have some drawbacks.

For example, during an examination unwanted contact often occurs between the barrier device and the patient's lower eyelids due to the proximity required for the examination. This can cause discomfort and may require subsequent disinfection of the device.

Furthermore, known barrier devices delay fogging, but do not eliminate it completely, so that, depending on the duration of the examination, their effectiveness is reduced or even eliminated.

Known barrier devices have also been found to prevent or hinder the tilting of the scanning lens, which is a technique used by many practitioners to scan a larger area of the fundus. This limitation is produced by the physical characteristics of the device or by a functional cause since, depending on the movement carried out, the entry of expired air from the patient would be allowed, conditioning the fogging of the examination lens.

Another associated drawback is that a specific barrier device is required for each of the different types of lenses to which it is to be attached, since, depending on the power and brand, they have a different size.

Therefore, this state-of-the-art solution may not be optimal or preferred by the practitioner in accordance with their usual scanning technique.

Therefore, a device is necessary that is capable of avoiding fogging of the fundus examination lenses during the slit lamp examination in users wearing a mask and that, at the same time, does not obstruct or hinder exploration.

DESCRIPTION

Presented here is a case for ophthalmic examination lenses with which the above objective is achieved and, in addition, additional advantages are obtained, as will be seen below.

Although the kit presented here is intended primarily for use in ophthalmic examination and is applicable to equipment such as slit lamps, the present kit may have utility in many other equipment and, in general, in applications where the wearing glasses for a short period of time.

The case for ophthalmic examination lenses that is presented comprises a housing or box that is formed by walls of a preferably plastic material, although it may be of metal or any other suitable resistant material. Inside the casing there is a thermal insulator such as, for example, polystyrene or another thermally suitable material of the reflective insulation type, aluminum, cellulose, cork or airgel, or the like, among others.

The casing of the case can have any suitable outer shape, such as circular base, polygonal, etc., and can have rounded edges for comfortable handling.

A suitable space is defined inside the housing to house examination lenses and to keep them at a certain temperature. The interior space of the casing of the case may be dimensioned and configured to accommodate an examination lens or a plurality of examination lenses, for example, lenses for ophthalmic examination equipment, such as slit lamps. However, the interior space of the casing of the case may be dimensioned and configured to accommodate other types of lenses or similar glass objects.

In the present case there are also provided heating means, or heat source, suitable for heating the interior space of the casing to a certain temperature. Preferably, the heating means are arranged in an upper region of the housing. The heating means can be constituted, for example, by at least one electrical resistance and / or a Peltier thermoelectric module. Many other different configurations are possible for the heating means.

The arrangement of heating means in combination with the thermal insulating material of the housing allows the temperature inside the case to be kept constant at a desired value to avoid fogging of the ophthalmic examination lenses.

The casing has a means of access to the interior space thereof. Said access means makes it possible to insert into the interior space of the case, or to extract from it, at least one examination lens. For this, the access means comprises at least one tray adapted to support therein at least one scanning lens. Said at least one tray is mounted in the casing of the case so that it can rotate with respect to it at least between a storage position, in which the scanning lens remains in the interior space of the casing of the case, stowed therein, and an extraction position, in which the scanning lens is at least partially outside the housing for removal from the case.

In a variant, the means of access to the interior space of the casing of the case can be constituted by at least two trays mounted on the casing, as indicated above, so that both can rotate at least between one storage position. , wherein the scanning lens remains in the interior space of the casing of the case, stored therein, and an extraction position. The trays in this variant can rotate according to respective axes of rotation arranged opposite each other.

If the means of access to the interior space of the casing of the case comprises several trays, these can be arranged in the same plane or in parallel planes, according to the space and design requirements of the case.

The presented case also preferably comprises a thermostat. The thermostat is suitable for regulating the operation of said heating means to maintain the interior space of the housing at a temperature close to or higher than body temperature. In this way, the water vapor present in the expired air is prevented from condensing on the surface of the lens and, therefore, the latter from fogging up. With this configuration the problems derived from the fogging of the lenses during the time necessary to carry out the examination are avoided.

To power at least the heating means, supply means are provided, such as a rechargeable battery. The rechargeable battery is preferably disposed within the casing of the case and can be recharged, for example, via a conventional universal serial bus (USB) connection from a transformer or a portable power source, for example. This configuration advantageously allows the case to be portable and easy to handle. However, the case in which the supply means and / or the thermostat are arranged outside the case is not ruled out. This configuration reduces the size or volume of the case if necessary, if portability is not required and external power supplies are available.

The feeding means can also feed a probe that is connected to the thermostat. The probe is intended to determine the temperature of the interior space of the casing as a function of which to regulate the current from the supply means to the heating means by opening or closing the thermostat the supply circuit of the heating means, through a relay . As with the feeding means, it is preferable that the probe is arranged in a lower or lateral area of the interior space of the casing of the case.

In the interior space of the housing, UV radiation means can be arranged for disinfecting the examination lenses. Said UV radiation means can be arranged in an upper area of the interior of the housing. The UV radiation means are intended to act upon completion of each examination, that is to say, they operate between each examination operation, for the disinfection of the examination lenses. The operation of the UV radiation media occurs with the case closed. The arrangement of UV radiation means allows the use of lenses while maintaining their transparency and disinfection properties for each of the examinations.

The described case has been found to be an effective solution to prevent the fogging of examination lenses in all cases with the additional advantage that the handling and use of the examination lenses by professionals is not affected. .

Other objects, advantages and characteristics of embodiments of the present kit will become apparent to the person skilled in the art from the following description, or may be derived from the practice thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Some particular examples of the present kit are described below. The following examples are given by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevational view of an example of the present ophthalmic examination lens case;

Figure 2 is a sectional plan view of the ophthalmic examination lens case of Figure 1; Y

Figures 3 and 4 are sectional plan views of another example of the case for ophthalmic examination lenses with trays in storage position and in extraction position, respectively.

DETAILED EXHIBITION OF EXAMPLES

The illustrated examples refer to a portable case 100 configured to prevent fogging of ophthalmic examination lenses 10 for examination equipment, such as slit lamps. However, the case 100 described below may have utility in many other different equipment and applications.

The case 100 shown in the drawings comprises a casing 20. The casing 20 has plastic walls 25 and inside a thermal insulator 30 such as, for example, polystyrene or other thermally suitable material of the reflective insulation type, aluminum, is arranged. cellulose, cork or airgel, or similar, among others. Thermal insulator 30 defines an interior space 40 suitable for accommodating ophthalmic examination lenses, hereinafter lenses 10.

Inside the housing 20 of the case 100 there are heating means 50 constituted by an electrical resistance to heat the interior space 40 of the housing 20 to a certain temperature suitable to avoid fogging of the lenses 10. In the non-limiting example shown in figure 1, a grid 57 is arranged to avoid direct contact of the lens 10 with the heating means 50.

The casing 20 presents means 60 for accessing the interior space 40. In the example shown in Figures 1 and 2, the access means 60 comprises a tray 70. The tray 70, in the example shown, is configured to support on the same two lenses 10. The tray 70, however, could be configured to support more or less than two lenses 10 thereon.

The tray 70 is mounted in the housing 20 so that it can rotate about an axis 80 between a storage position, in which the lenses 10 are disposed in the interior space 40 of the housing 20, and an extraction position in where the lenses 10 are arranged on the outside of the casing 20, as shown in figure 1 or at least partially on the outside thereof, as shown in figure 2, for the extraction of the lenses 10 from case 100.

The case 100 also comprises a thermostat 55 designed to regulate the operation of the heating means 50 in order to maintain the interior space 40 of the housing 20 at a temperature close to or higher than body temperature.

In housing 20 a rechargeable battery 90 is provided via a conventional USB connection from a transformer or portable power source. The battery 90 feeds the resistance 50 and also a probe 56 that is connected to the thermostat 55. The probe 56 makes it possible to determine the temperature of the interior space 40 of the housing 20 and regulate accordingly the current that passes through the resistance 50 to maintain the space interior 40 of housing 20 at a temperature close to or greater than body temperature, as indicated.

In the non-limiting example shown, the case incorporates UV radiation means 95, in an upper area of the housing 20, intended to disinfect the lenses 10 found in the interior space 40.

Numerous variants of the case 100 are possible. For example, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the means 60 for accessing the interior space 40 may include two trays 70 rotatably mounted on the housing 20. The trays 70, in In this case, they can rotate between said storage position, in which the lenses 10 are arranged in the interior space 40 of the housing 20, as shown in Figure 3, and said extraction position in which the lenses 10 are arranged on the outside of the casing 20, such as shown in FIG. 4, for the extraction of the lenses 10 from the case 100. The trays 70 in this example can rotate according to respective axes of rotation 80, 85 arranged opposite each other.

The described examples of the case 100 represent a highly effective solution to maintain the lenses 10 in adequate transparency conditions since it prevents the water vapor present in the expired air from condensing on the surface of the lens 10, without being affected. its manipulation nor its use by professionals.

Although only a few particular examples have been described herein, the person skilled in the art will understand that other examples and / or uses are possible, as well as obvious modifications and equivalent elements. Thus, for example, the casing of the case can have any suitable outer shape, such as circular base, polygonal, etc., and can have rounded edges if required.

The present description encompasses all possible combinations of the described examples and the scope should not be limited thereto, but should be determined solely by a proper reading of the appended claims.

Claims (15)

1. Case (100) for ophthalmic examination lenses (10), comprising: - a housing (20) formed by walls (25) and a thermal insulating material (30) that define an interior space (40) suitable for housing examination lenses (10) and keeping them at a certain temperature; Y - heating means (50) suitable for heating the interior space (40) of the casing (20) to the determined temperature, characterized in that the casing (20) further comprises - a means (60) for accessing the interior space (40) for inserting therein or extracting from it at least one scanning lens (10), the access means (60) comprising at least one tray (70) adapted to support therein at least one scanning lens (10), said tray (70) being rotatably mounted on the housing (20) between a storage position, in which the scanning lens (10) remains in the interior space (40) of the housing (20), and an extraction position, in which the scanning lens (10) is at least partially outside the housing (20). 2. Case (100), according to claim 1, characterized in that the means (60) for accessing the interior space (40) comprises at least two trays (70) mounted on the casing (20) of rotatable with respect to the same according to respective axes of rotation (80, 85) arranged opposite each other. 3. Case (100), according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the means (60) for accessing the interior space (40) comprise trays (70) arranged in the same plane. 4. Case (100), according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the means (60) for accessing the interior space (40) comprise trays (70) arranged in parallel planes. 5. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating means (50) are arranged in an upper area of the casing (20). 6. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating means (50) comprise at least one electrical resistance. 7. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the heating means (50) comprise a Peltier thermoelectric module. 8. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a thermostat (55) suitable for regulating the operation of the heating means (50) to maintain the interior space (40) of the casing (20) at a temperature close to or higher than body temperature. 9. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises supply means (90) to supply at least the heating means (50). 10. Case (100), according to claim 9, characterized in that the power supply means (90) comprise a rechargeable battery. 11. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the thermal insulating material (30) of the casing (20) is at least one of polystyrene, aluminum, cellulose, cork, or airgel. 12. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes a probe (56) connected to the thermostat (55) to determine the temperature and regulate the current of the supply means (90) to the heating means (50) as a function of the temperature of the interior space (40) of the casing (20). Case (100), according to claim 10, characterized in that the probe (56) is arranged in a lower or lateral area of the interior space (40) of the housing (20). 14. Case (100), according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it includes UV radiation means (95) for disinfecting the examination lenses (10) in the interior space (40) of the casing (20). 15. Case (100), according to claim 14, characterized in that the UV radiation means (95) are arranged in an upper area of the casing (20).