FR2729769A1 - DEVICE FOR HEATING AND CONSERVATION OF HEAT FOR THE TREATMENT OF REMOVAL OF PROTEINS FOR CONTACT LENSES - Google Patents

Abstract

a) Heating and heat preservation device for contact lens protein removal treatment. b) Device characterized in that it comprises a container (12) made of a hollow thermal insulation material and having a predetermined wall thickness to provide thermal insulation, the container having an upper opening so that we can pour in this container a certain quantity of high temperature water, lens retaining means comprising a lens holder (18) in which lens chambers are formed for receiving the soft contact lenses and a certain quantity of agent for treating lenses, the lens holder (18) having two side flanges for resting on shoulders formed inside the container, so that the lens chambers can be soaked in high temperature water .

Description

"Heating and heat preservation device

  for protein removal treatment for long-term

contact lenses "

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

  The present invention generally relates to a heating and heat preservation device for cleaning soft contact lenses and, more particularly, to a device which is capable of

  maintain, for a given period of time, the temperature

  treatment solution in which the contact lens is immersed and treated, without application of the

  less external power supply.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

  Soft contact lenses have been invented

  1951 by a Czechoslovak teacher: the Profes-

  Wichterle. Soft contact lenses are generally made of hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) which

  is a material containing water and having a structure

  polymer composition comprising micropores.

  Contact lenses are widely used to correct vision problems in human eyes and are in contact with the eyeballs of human beings who wear them. The prolonged use of the lenses of

  contact usually produces contamination of

  contact cells by the secretions of the eye and

  in the atmosphere, or pollution by microorganisms, so that periodic cleaning of the contact lenses is necessary to protect the eyes of the user. This is particularly true for soft contact lenses because the material used to make these soft contact lenses, as indicated

  above, is a material containing water, with half

  cropores that can be easily contaminated by microorganisms. Cleaning maintenance of soft contact lenses generally comprises three steps. The first step

  is the washing of the lenses by hand with a solution

  cleaning agent which usually contains a surfactant

  to remove most of the products of contamina-

  or pollutants attached to the surface of contact lenses. This must be done every day

  when soft contact lenses are used.

  The second step is a sterilization that is usually done by heat or by a solution

  chemical, so that the devices commonly available

  sterilization of contact lenses are classified as (i) thermal sterilization, (ii) sterilization

  chemical and (iii) sterilization with hydrogen peroxide.

  There are several thermal sterilization processes that are: (1) the autoclave sterilization process (high pressure sterilization) that heats the contact lenses to 121 ° C for 20 minutes or C for 15 minutes, (2) the moist heating (boiling) sterilization process that heats the contact lenses at 95 ° C for 20 minutes, and (3) the pasteurization process (low temperature sterilization) which

  heats the contact lenses at 70 C for 3 hours.

  Sterilization and hand washing must be done

  killed every day when contact lenses are used

  every day, to protect the eyes of the user. Chemical sterilization includes the addition of

  chemical preservatives in the laundry solution

  soft contact cups for disinfection of these soft contact lenses when immersed

  in the solution. To completely sterilize

  these lenses must be soaked in

  washing time for at least 4 hours. Since no heating device is needed, chemical sterilization becomes progressively more prevalent than

thermal sterilization.

  As new technologies developed, we use

  now widely reads a solution of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2), at a concentration of 3%, for the sterilization of

soft contact lenses.

  The third cleaning maintenance step of soft contact lenses is the removal of the protein coating formed on the surface of the contact lenses

  Flexible. Although the daily cleaning step of the

  contact lenses removes most pollutants formed on the surface of contact lenses

  however, we can not completely remove

  sidus of denatured proteins. To remove the denatured protein residues, two methods can be used. The first method is to use an enzyme pellet to break the chemical bonds between the molecules of

  proteins. The second method consists in using a solution

  peroxide to oxidize the protein which is then

removed by hand cleaning.

  Removal of the protein coating by means of

  of enzyme pellets, has the advantages of being practically

  and easy to use because it is done by simply dropping the enzyme pellets into the lens housings in which the enzyme solution is formed to remove protein residues on the surface of the contact lenses. A disadvantage of this process is that

  the enzyme can only work on proteins

  is lying. The enzyme can not handle other types of pol-

  such as lipids, lipoproteins and dust. Another disadvantage is that if the protein coating on the surface of the lens is very thick, the chemical reaction of the enzyme at room temperature

  is not efficient enough to remove all residences

due to protein.

  The peroxide solution, especially the

  hydrogen oxide or hydrogen peroxide, is effective for treating

  ter the different types of pollutants such as proteins, lipids or dust. Pollutants on the surface of the lens are oxidized by the solution of

  peroxide and then removed by hand cleaning.

  The effectiveness of the peroxide solution is better than

  that of the enzyme. However, the peroxide solution

  requires a high temperature of more than 60 C to trigger

  a complete reaction between pollutants and the

  solution. Conventionally, a heating oven is used

  temperature controllable fuse for carrying out the process using peroxides to remove surface pollutants from soft contact lenses. Such a furnace

  heating is expensive and is therefore only bought by

  sad to serve their patients or their clients. As

  heating at too high a temperature for a period of

  time period too long causes aging and

  deterioration of the contact lens material

  the temperature of the heating oven must be controlled

  EEA. The temperature must be below 80 C for a period of less than 3 hours. In general, if the soft contact lenses are heated to 80 C, the period of

  treatment is approximately 30 minutes, and the treatment period

  The temperature for 70 C is 1 hour. Although the use of a heating oven for treating soft contact lenses with a peroxide solution is very effective in removing the pollutant or protein coating formed on the surface of the lens, it is very impractical for Soft contact lens wearers to visit optometrists periodically

to have their lenses treated.

  It is therefore desirable to create a heating and heat preservation device for treating soft contact lenses, which is of simple structure and therefore cheap to use, for cleaning

  personal soft contact lenses.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

  The object of the present invention is to create a

  positive heating and heat preservation that is simple in structure, easy to use and

  cheap, for a maintenance treatment of net-

  personal cleaning to remove proteins from

soft contact lenses.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a temperature controllable heating device for the purposes of protein removal processing on soft contact lenses which is of structural

simple and cheap.

  Another object of the present invention is to create a contact lens heater

  flexible that is disposable and cheap.

  To achieve the above goals, according to a

  of the present invention, a device for

  heating and heat preservation for the treatment

  cleaning maintenance by removal of proteins

  soft contact lenses, including a recess

  piez thermal insulation provided with an upper opening for the entry of a quantity of water for example from 300 to

  600 ml at high temperature. A thermal insulation cover

  It is planned to close the upper opening of the

  to conserve the thermal energy of high-temperature water

  the temperature inside the container. A door-

  lens having two separate lens chambers

  each receiving a certain quantity of soft contact lens processing solution and a soft contact lens, is disposed inside the water container at a high temperature so that the two lens chambers are soaked in the high temperature water for heating the treatment solution to a reaction trigger temperature, so as to start the reaction between the treatment solution and the coating

  contaminated on contact lenses.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of cleaning protein removal is created.

  flexible contact lenses, which includes

  consisting of: (1) pouring a predetermined quantity of water at a temperature of at least 95 C into a container

  thermal insulation; (2) add a solution of

  oxide such as a solution of sodium perborate, in a predetermined amount in the lens chamber of a lens holder, and sealing the chambers

  lens; (3) arrange the lens holder in the recess

  thermal insulation containing high temperature water

  erasing, so that the lens chambers are soaked in water at high temperature, and closing the container by a cover member to conserve thermal energy of the high temperature water within the container;

  (4) wait for about an hour then open the recipe

  to remove the soft contact lenses from the lens holder; (5) clean by hand the surface of

  contact lenses with a conventional cleaning solution

  in order to completely remove pollutants from the surface of the lenses; and (6) soak the lenses

  soft contact in a conventional washing solution

  for about 30 minutes to dilute the residue of

  peroxide, then change the solution two or three times

washing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

  The present invention will be described hereinafter in more detail with the help of a preferred example of

  embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings in the

what:

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view

  sensing heat and heat preservation device for soft contact lenses, constructed according to

  the present invention and with the lid open for

  to describe the interior in detail; and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a contact lens holder structure in which a solution for treating the contact lens is disposed.

  contact lenses and soft contact lenses.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

  Referring to the drawings, and more particularly

  shown in Figure 1, in which a device

  A heat sink and heat preservation system for soft contact lenses, constructed in accordance with the present invention and generally designated by reference, the device 10 comprises a box-shaped container 12 made of a thermal insulation material. such

  polystyrene, this container having a top or-

  green 14 to pour into the vessel 12 water at a predetermined elevated temperature. Volume graduations

  of water, for example every 50 or 100 ml, are preferably

  formed on an inner surface of the container 12 to indicate the amount of water inside the container 12. The container 12 comprises a shoulder 16 formed

  inside of it in a position close to

  of the upper opening 14, to support the

  container 12 a lens holder 18 which is shown in FIG.

  more particularly in Figure 2. A hood or cowl

  22 is used to close the upper opening 14 of the container 12, so as to conserve the thermal energy of the high temperature water contained in the container 12.

  Preferably, the cover 22 is also

  made of a thermal insulation material such as

  12, for example polystyrene, so as to

  strengthen its temperature conservation capacity.

  Referring specifically to the figure

  2 which represents a cross-sectional view of the carrier

  18 lenses, this lens holder 18 includes two chambers

  24 and 26 each for receiving a lens of con-

  soft tact, for example the lens of the left eye and the lens of the right eye, as well as a suitable amount of lens treatment solution such as a solution of peroxide such as for example a solution of sodium perborate. In the illustrated embodiment, the two

  chambers 24 and 26 are separated from each other but

  The structure of the chambers thus connected together comprises a lateral rim formed on each of their two opposite sides, so as to be placed on the shoulder 16 and thus be supported.

  by this shoulder inside the container 12. The

  edges 20 are formed to allow the chambers 24 and 26 of the lens holder 18 to be substantially placed in the high temperature water inside the container.

  12. This allows the treatment solution and the

  flexible contact chambers contained in chambers 24 and 26, to be heated by the water at a high temperature to a temperature sufficient to fully trigger the

  chemical reaction between the polluting protein and the

  treatment, as this temperature is not sufficient

  high to damage the lens material of

soft contact.

  As illustrated, the lens holder 18 can

  take two box-shaped receptacles defining each

  each a lens chamber 24 or 26, and a plate-shaped element on which two holes are formed to receive and each contain one of the two boxes 24 and 26. The plate constitutes the connection 18 between the two chambers 24 and 26, and has side portions extending beyond

  boxes for forming the lateral flanges 20.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, a method of cleaning protein removal is created.

  on soft contact lenses, using the

  positive heating and heat preservation 10

  according to the present invention, this method comprising

  The following steps consist of: (1) pouring boiling water at a temperature of at least 95 ° C into the vessel 12 to a desired level corresponding for example to 300, 400, 500 or 600 ml; (2) arranging the soft contact lenses to be cleaned in the chambers 24 and 26 of the lens holder 18 and adding thereto a treatment solution such as a peroxide solution, by placing in these chambers distilled water in an amount of, for example, 6 ml, and peroxide powders in a suitable amount of, for example, 0.4 gm sodium perborate;

  (3) place the lens holder 18 in the recess

  12 by bringing the lateral flanges 20 on the shoulder-

  16 of the container 12 so that the chambers 24 and 26

  are soaked in water at high temperature

  container 12; (4) close the container 12 by the cover 22 and wait for a period of time of for example 1 hour;

  (5) open the cover 22 and remove the

  soft contact lenses of the lens holder 18 to carefully wash (rubbing) the contact lenses

  flexible with the fingertips, using a

  Conventional cleaning of contact lenses

  flexible, so as to remove the proteins and other pol-

  on the surfaces of the lenses, as well as those which are placed in the micropores of the soft contact lens material; and (6) soaking the soft contact lenses in a conventional wash solution for a period of time of for example 30 minutes, and then replacing the wash solution with a fresh wash solution two to three times, to dilute the peroxide on the

contact lenses.

  Experiments with different quantities

  (300, 400, 500 and 600 ml) of high temperature water

  filling the container 12 gave the following results:

  : Volume of water 300 ml i 400 ml 500 ml 600 ml time (min) temperature (C)

O 22 22 22 22

62 69 70 71

68 76 77 77

70 77 78 79

69 76 77 78

68 75 76 77

65 72 74 74

62 69 71 72

59 66 68 69

56 63 65 66

  The container 12 used in the experiments below

  top is made of polystyrene and has a thickness

  1.5 cm wall thickness. It can be seen from the data

  above, that the temperature inside the lens holder 18 can be maintained above 60 C for at least

  one hour, such a temperature being that which is necessary

  It is necessary for the effective production of the reaction between the treatment solution such as a solution of peroxide, and the pollutant on the surface of the

  soft contact. In addition, the device of this

  The invention maintains a temperature of about 72 ° C to 79 ° C for a period of about 50 minutes when using a volume of high temperature water of more than 400 ml. This result is similar to the one we get with

  the temperature controlled heating furnace conventionally

nel.

  The incubation time required for the treatment

  Soft contact lenses with the device of the present invention depend on the degree of pollution of the soft contact lens. For lenses with light or normal pollution, the incubation time should be approximately 40 minutes, and the treatment process should be done once a month. For heavily polluted lenses, eg lenses that are treated every month and a half, the incubation time

  should be extended to sixty or ninety

  utes. It can easily be observed and understood that the temperature inside the lens holder is determined

  by the volume of high temperature water poured into the container

  piez of thermal insulation. The greater the volume of water is

  tit, lower is the maximum temperature you can

  reach inside the lens holder, and the more

  water lume is bigger higher is the maximum temperature

  that can be reached inside the lens holder. AIN-

  if, for soft contact lenses made of materials with a high water content (above 55%), a lower temperature is necessary to avoid a

  deterioration of the contact lens materials

  ples, ie it is necessary to pour a smaller volume

  of high temperature water in the container.

  Since the treatment process described above does not need to be performed every week or every day, it is absolutely uneconomical for a wearer of soft contact lenses to purchase a controllable heating furnace. conventional temperature expensive. the

  contrary, as the device provided by this

  vention is simple in structure and therefore

  easy to use, this device is an excellent solution for a personal use of

  treatment of soft contact lenses at home.

  As the device of the present invention

  provides a hot water bath with a temperature range

  safe for contact lenses

  tact soft, and as a general way a temperature

  increase in a chemical reaction (the reaction rate

  double for a temperature rise of about

   C), the device of the present invention can also

  It can be used as a reaction accelerator for a soft contact lens cleaning treatment process using a conventional enzyme or hydrogen peroxide pellet. The reaction rate between the cleaning agents, ie the enzyme solution or the hydrogen peroxide solution, and the contamination products on the surfaces of the soft contact lenses, can be increased by several orders of magnitude. compared to the conventional process in which the reaction occurs at room temperature, and the cleaning efficiency can also be significantly improved. Since no external power source is used to heat the soft contact lens and the

  treatment solution, there is no risk of

  operation of the power source, or leaving the soft contact lens in the treatment device or the heating oven for a longer period than necessary, thereby heating the soft contact lenses to a temperature too high or during a period of time that is too long to damage the

soft contact lenses.

  It is clear that although the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment,

  experts in the field will be able to contribute

  many changes to the preferred embodiment without

  outside the scope of the invention as defined by the

following publications.

Claims (15)

R E V E N D I C A T I 0 N S   1) Heating and conservation device   the heat for cleaning contact lenses   ples, comprising a hollow container (12) made of a thermal insulating material and having a predetermined wall thickness for thermal insulation, the container having an upper opening so that a certain amount of water can be poured into this container; 'water   at high temperature, lens retention means com-   taking a lens holder (18) in which lens chambers for receiving the soft contact lenses and a certain quantity of lens treatment agent are formed, the lens holder (18) comprising   two side edges intended to rest on shoulder-   formed inside the container, so that the lens chambers can be soaked in the high water   temperature, and a cover member made in a   thermal insulation material to close the upper opening   container to maintain the inside temperature of the container above a predetermined level   during a given period of time.   2) Heating and heat preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that   the amount of high temperature water filling the recipe   pient is in the range of 300 to 600 ml.   3) Heating and heat preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the temperature of the high temperature water filling the container is at least 95 C.   4) Heating and heat preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the temperature of the high temperature water filling the container is maintained above 60 C for about an hour, thanks to the material of thermal insulation used   to form the lid member and the container.   Heating and heat preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the internal temperature of the container is maintained between 710 C and 78 C for fifty minutes, by virtue of the thermal insulation material used to form the heating element. neck- circle and the container.   6) Heating and heat preservation device according to claim 1, characterized in that the lens holder comprises two separate chambers (24, 24) connected by a link (28) for each receiving a soft contact lens and a certain amount   of soft contact lens processing agent.   7) Device according to claim 6, characterized   in that the amount of lens treatment agent   soft contact filling each of the chambers tille, is about 6 ml.   8) Device according to claim 1, characterized   In that the contact lens treatment agent   flexible includes a solution formed by adding a   enzyme in distilled water.   9) Device according to claim 1, characterized   characterized in that the soft contact lens treatment agent comprises a solution of hydrogen peroxide or hydrogen peroxide.   10) Device according to claim 1, characterized   rised in that the contact lens treatment agent   flexible comprises a peroxide solution.   11) Device according to claim 10, characterized   rised in that the contact lens treatment agent   flexible comprises a solution of sodium perborate.   12) Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the thermal insulation material comprises polystyrene.   13) Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the lid element is made in a thermal insulation material.   14) Device according to claim 1, characterized   rised in that the thermal insulation material that forms   the cover member comprises polystyrene.   Device according to claim 1, characterized   in that the wall thickness of the container is 1.5 cm.   16) Len cleaning treatment process   contact heads using the device comprising: - a hollow container made of a thermal insulation material, having a predetermined wall thickness and an upper opening so that a certain amount of water can be poured into this container at high temperature ; lens retaining means comprising a portelentilles in which chambers are formed;   lens intended to receive the contact lenses   ples and a certain amount of treatment   the lens holder having two lateral flanges   intended to rely on elements formed in the in-   the interior of the container so that the lens chambers can be immersed in the water at high temperature; and - a cover member made of a heat insulating material, for closing the top opening of the container to maintain the interior temperature of that container above a predetermined level for a predetermined period of time,   characterized in that it comprises the following steps: consisting of:   (1) pour into the thermal insulation container   a predetermined amount of water at a temperature of at least 95 C; (2) arrange the contact lenses to be cleaned in the lens chambers of the lens holder and   in these rooms a certain amount of   soft contact lenses; (3) placing the lens holder in the container so that its side flanges are placed on the shoulders of the container so that the lens chambers can be immersed in the high temperature water contained in the container; (4) closing the container by means of the lid member and waiting for a given period of time;   (5) open the container to remove the   contact lenses of the lens holder (18) and clean   hand rubbing the lenses of   contact, using a long-term cleaning solution   conventional soft contact cells for removing protein residues and other pollutants from soft contact lenses; and (6) soaking the soft contact lenses in a conventional wash solution for a period of time   given time, and then replace 2 to 3 times the   washing with a fresh washing solution, in order to   dilute residues on soft contact lenses.   17) Method according to claim 16, characterized in that the washing time period of the lenses of   soft contact in the conventional dipping solution this is 30 minutes.