KR102521477B1 - Light irradiation apparatus for inducing oil excretion of meibomian gland - Google Patents

Abstract

A light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from the meibomian glands is disclosed. The light irradiation device for inducing the oil discharge of the meibomian gland is a white light irradiation unit that generates white light and irradiates it to the eye part where the meibomian gland is located, and photographs the eye part to which the white light is irradiated, so that the meibomian gland appears. It includes a photographing unit for generating an image, a multi-wavelength light irradiation unit for generating multi-wavelength light and irradiating it to the meibomian gland, and a control unit for generating white light, photographing the eye, and controlling to generate an infrared image.

Description

Light irradiation apparatus for inducing oil excretion of meibomian gland}

The present invention relates to a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from the meibomian glands.

The meibomian gland is a type of sebaceous gland in the eyelid, and secretes oil to form an oil layer on the tear layer. Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) is a condition in which the function of the meibomian gland is diffusely abnormal due to various causes, and is accompanied by chronic discomfort. In addition, the meibomian gland infarction is a decrease in the function of the meibomian gland, and a white transparent oily lump is formed in the secretory duct, referring to a state in which the meibomian gland is blocked. As a result, the secretion of fat components is reduced and tears evaporate excessively, resulting in dry eye syndrome. Therefore, in order to diagnose meibomian gland dysfunction, slit-lamp examination and meibomian gland imaging of the eyelids and ocular surface are required.

On the other hand, in the case of dry eye syndrome due to meibomian gland dysfunction, symptoms can be improved by improving the ocular surface environment that prevents tear evaporation and helps tear production. In the meantime, there are methods widely known, including artificial tears and punctal closure, but artificial tears temporarily alleviate symptoms and are not a fundamental treatment. In particular, excessive use of artificial tears containing preservatives can harm eye health.

Therefore, as a method of helping tear production while effectively preventing tear evaporation without side effects, there is a method of squeezing the oil in the meibomian gland after warm steam towel massage and fomentation. That is, in this method, by sweeping the eyelids with a cotton swab, the meibomian glands can be cleaned by forcibly squeezing out the oil clogged up in the meibomian glands and discharging them to the outside. However, although this method is helpful in the treatment of meibomian gland dysfunction, it is dangerous because the eye area must be forcibly stimulated, and it is cumbersome and inconvenient because it must be performed continuously to see the effect.

Therefore, in order to treat meibomian gland dysfunction, development of a device that effectively induces the discharge of oil within the meibomian gland is required.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2019-0056370 (2019.05.24.)

The present invention is to provide a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of the meibomian gland for photographing the meibomian gland and irradiating multi-wavelength light to the meibomian gland.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of the meibomian gland is disclosed.

The light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from the meibomian gland according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a white light irradiation unit for generating white light and irradiating it to the eye area where the Meibomian gland is located, and the eye area to which the white light is irradiated. By photographing, a photographing unit for generating an infrared image in which the meibomian gland appears, a multi-wavelength light irradiation unit for generating multi-wavelength light and irradiating the meibomian gland to the meibomian gland, and generating the white light, photographing the eye, and the infrared image It includes a control unit for controlling to generate.

The white light emitter includes a laser pointer that outputs a guide beam indicating a point where the white light is irradiated.

The white light includes visible light and infrared light, and the photographing unit includes an infrared pass filter and an infrared image sensor for passing near infrared light having a wavelength of 880 nm.

The multi-wavelength light emitter unites a plurality of laser diodes (LDs) that output laser lights of different wavelengths and a plurality of laser lights output from the plurality of laser diodes to generate multi-wavelength laser lights. A beam synthesizer for synthesizing and outputting laser light, wherein the plurality of laser diodes include a pair of laser diodes of a first wavelength, a pair of laser diodes of a second wavelength, and a pair of laser diodes of a third wavelength, The wavelength, the second wavelength, and the third wavelength are near-infrared wavelengths of 600 nm band, 800 nm band, and 900 nm band, respectively.

The first wavelength, the second wavelength, and the third wavelength are 630 nm, 808 nm, and 920 nm wavelengths, respectively, and the laser light of the 920 nm wavelength melts the fat in the meibomian gland.

The beam combiner includes a polygonal pillar-shaped body on which the plurality of laser diodes are radially mounted on a side surface, a reflector positioned at the center of the body and condensing laser light output from the plurality of laser diodes toward an upper surface of the body, An optical fiber stub located on an upper surface of the body and outputting light condensed through the reflector, wherein the reflector is configured to condense the laser light output from each laser diode and enter the optical fiber stub, It is formed in the shape of a polygonal pyramid having the same number of sides as the number.

Each laser light output from the plurality of laser diodes mounted outside the beam combiner is incident on each corresponding reflective surface, and then reflected to a single point and condensed.

The white light irradiation unit, the photographing unit, and the multi-wavelength light irradiation unit are formed in an integral probe shape.

The light irradiation device includes a white light irradiation command for outputting the infrared image, a white light irradiation command for generating and outputting the white light, a photographing command for generating the infrared image, and a multi-wavelength light irradiation command for generating and outputting the multi-wavelength light. It further includes an input/output unit for receiving an input, wherein the input/output unit includes three footswitches that receive the white light irradiation command, the photographing command, and the multi-wavelength light irradiation command by pressing with a foot.

The light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from the meibomian glands according to an embodiment of the present invention photographs the meibomian glands and irradiates the meibomian glands with multi-wavelength light, thereby confirming meibomian gland dysfunction and reducing the amount of oil in the meibomian glands. discharge can be induced.

1 is a view schematically illustrating the configuration of a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of meibomian glands according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 to 4 are views for explaining a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from the meibomian glands according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a view showing an example of realizing a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of meibomian glands according to an embodiment of the present invention as a product.

Singular expressions used herein include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "consisting of" or "comprising" should not be construed as necessarily including all of the various components or steps described in the specification, and some of the components or some of the steps It should be construed that it may not be included, or may further include additional components or steps. In addition, terms such as "...unit" and "module" described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented as hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. .

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from meibomian glands according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are views of meibomian glands oil according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a drawing for explaining the light irradiation device for inducing discharge. Hereinafter, a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge from the meibomian gland according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1, but reference will be made to FIGS. 2 to 4.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a light irradiation device for inducing meibomian gland oil discharge according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a white light irradiation unit 10, a photographing unit 20, a multi-wavelength light irradiation unit 30, and a control unit 40. ) and an input/output unit 50.

The white light emitter 10 generates and outputs white light. That is, the white light irradiation unit 10 may irradiate white light to a region where the meibomian gland is located, such as an eyelid, for imaging the meibomian gland.

For example, the white light emitter 10 is a light source that generates and outputs white light including visible light, infrared light, and the like, and may include a light emitting diode (LED).

In addition, the white light irradiation unit 10 is a laser pointer that outputs a guide beam indicating a point to which the white light is irradiated so that the user can irradiate the output white light to a desired point (eg, an eyelid region where meibomian glands exist). can include For example, a laser pointer may output a cross-shaped guide beam.

The photographing unit 20 captures an area where the meibomian glands irradiated with white light by the white light irradiation unit 10 are located, and generates an infrared image in which the meibomian glands appear. To this end, the photographing unit 20 may be a camera equipped with an infrared pass filter on the front side.

For example, the photographing unit 20 may include an infrared pass filter and an infrared image sensor for passing near infrared rays having a wavelength of 880 nm.

Thus, the photographing unit 20 may generate an infrared image as shown in FIG. 2 by photographing a portion of the meibomian gland irradiated with white light.

That is, FIG. 2 shows an infrared image of the eyelid irradiated with white light, photographed by a camera equipped with an infrared pass filter. As shown in Figure 2, the meibomian gland 70 appears on the infrared image, it can be confirmed whether or not the meibomian gland is clogged with fat by checking it. And, as described above, the cross-shaped guide beam 15 shown in FIG. 2 represents a guide beam output from a laser pointer mounted on the white light emitter 10 to guide a white light irradiation point.

The multi-wavelength light irradiator 30 generates and outputs multi-wavelength light. That is, the multi-wavelength light irradiation unit 30 may irradiate the meibomian gland with multi-wavelength light to melt the fat that hardens in the meibomian gland and blocks the meibomian gland and improve meibomian gland dysfunction.

The multi-wavelength light irradiator 30 may include a plurality of laser diodes 31 and a beam combiner 35 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to radiate multi-wavelength light.

A plurality of laser diodes (LDs) 31 emit laser lights of different wavelengths to generate multi-wavelength laser lights.

The light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of the meibomian gland according to an embodiment of the present invention is a near-infrared ray close to red visible light, having a wavelength of 600 nm band, 800 nm band and 900 nm band, in order to improve meibomian gland dysfunction. It may be configured to output near-infrared rays, and a pair of laser diodes may be provided for each wavelength in order to simultaneously satisfy cost reduction and increase in output power.

For example, the plurality of laser diodes 10 may be one pair of 630 nm wavelength laser diodes, one pair of 808 nm wavelength laser diodes, and one pair of 920 nm wavelength laser diodes, for a total of six laser diodes. At this time, the output power of each laser diode may be up to 200mW.

And, laser light with a wavelength of 920 nm can melt fat in the meibomian gland.

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The plurality of laser diodes 10 may be controlled by a controller 40 to be described later to output modulated laser light in the form of a continuous wave (CW) or pulse, and the pulse output time or Light output time can also be controlled.

The beam synthesizer 35 synthesizes a plurality of laser lights output from a plurality of laser diodes 31 into one laser light and outputs the result.

That is, the beam combiner 35 may synthesize a plurality of laser lights having wavelengths of 600 nm band, 800 nm band, and 900 nm band input from the plurality of laser diodes 31 to output one multi-wavelength laser beam. In addition to this, the beam synthesizer 35 can increase the output power by up to two times by in-phase combining and outputting a pair of laser lights of the same wavelength input from a pair of laser diodes for each wavelength. .

For example, the beam combiner 35 may synthesize laser light input from a pair of laser diodes that output laser light having a wavelength of 630 nm at 200 mW and output laser light having an output power of up to 400 mW. This has the effect of substantially reducing the purchase cost of the laser diode. In general, two laser diodes having an output power of 200mW are cheaper than the price of one laser diode having an output power of 400mW. If single-wavelength laser light is used instead of multi-wavelength laser light, 6 laser lights synthesized through the beam combiner 35 can have output power up to 6 times, while cost can be reduced.

3 and 4 show an example of a beam combiner 35 in which a plurality of laser diodes 31 are combined, FIG. 3 shows the outer appearance of the beam combiner 31, and FIG. 4 shows an inside of the beam combiner 31. It indicates that a plurality of laser lights are synthesized.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the beam combiner 35 has a polygonal columnar body 36 on which a plurality of laser diodes 31 are radially mounted on a side surface, and a plurality of laser diodes located in the center of the body 36 ( 31), a reflector 38 condensing the laser light output toward the upper surface of the body 36, and an optical fiber stub 37 located on the upper surface of the body 36 and outputting the condensed light through the reflector 38.

Here, the reflector 38 is formed in a polygonal pyramid shape having the same number of sides as the number of the plurality of laser diodes 31 so that the laser light output from each laser diode 31 is condensed and incident to the optical fiber stub 37. It can be. Thus, each laser light output from the plurality of laser diodes 31 mounted outside the beam combiner 35 may be incident on each corresponding reflective surface and then reflected to one point and condensed.

In this way, the plurality of laser diodes 31 and the beam synthesizer 35 may be integrally configured.

The control unit 40 controls the white light irradiation unit 10 , the photographing unit 20 and the multi-wavelength light irradiation unit 30 .

That is, in order to irradiate white light to a part where the meibomian gland is located, such as the eyelid, the control unit 40 generates and outputs white light from the white light irradiation unit 10, and the photographing unit 20 places the meibomian gland where the white light is irradiated. By taking a picture, it can be controlled to generate an infrared image in which meibomian glands appear.

In addition, the control unit 40 controls the plurality of laser diodes 31 to output modulated laser light in the form of a continuous wave (CW) or pulse, and pulse output time or light output time. can control.

The input/output unit 50 is a user interface, and can output information output from the control unit 40 and receive a user's command.

That is, the input/output unit 50 may receive and output an infrared image of the meibomian gland photographed by the photographing unit 20 from the control unit 40 .

Further, the input/output unit 50 includes a white light irradiation command for the white light emitter 10 to generate and output white light, a photographing command for the photographing unit 20 to photograph an area irradiated with white light and generate an infrared image, and a multi-wavelength image. A multi-wavelength light irradiation command, which causes the light irradiator 30 to generate and output multi-wavelength light, may be received from a user and transmitted to the control unit 40 .

5 is a view showing an example of realizing a light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of meibomian glands according to an embodiment of the present invention as a product.

Referring to FIG. 5, the light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of the meibomian gland according to an embodiment of the present invention includes probes 11, 21, and 31, a body 41, and a foot switch 51. can be configured to include

Here, the probes 11, 21, and 31 include a first probe 11 that outputs white light, a second probe 21 that photographs an area irradiated with white light using reflected light of the output white light, and multi-wavelength light. It includes a third probe 31 that outputs.

That is, the probes 11, 21, and 31 are integrally formed of the aforementioned white light irradiation unit 10, the photographing unit 20, and the multi-wavelength light irradiation unit 30, and include the white light irradiation unit 10, the photographing unit 20 and It is a configuration for performing at least a part of the function of the multi-wavelength light irradiation unit 30 .

For example, a component for generating white light and multi-wavelength light is installed in the main body 41, and the first probe 11 and the third probe 31 receive the white light and multi-wavelength light from the main body 41. can be printed out. And, as shown in FIG. 5 , the second probe 21 may be formed in a form in which an infrared pass filter 22 is mounted on the front side, and an infrared image sensor may be mounted therein.

The main body 41 basically includes the functions of the control unit 40, and may be configured to include at least some of the functions of the white light emitter 10, the photographing unit 20, and the multi-wavelength light emitter 30.

The footswitch 51 is an input device in which a user inputs a command by pressing the foot, and is a component included in the aforementioned input/output unit 50.

For example, the footswitch 51 may be composed of three of a first footswitch, a second footswitch, and a third footswitch, each of which is set to input a white light irradiation command, a photographing command, and a multi-wavelength light irradiation command. It can be.

The embodiments of the present invention described above have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art having ordinary knowledge of the present invention will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such modifications, changes, and additions will be considered to fall within the scope of the following claims.

10: white light irradiation unit
15: cross-shaped guide beam
20: filming department
30: multi-wavelength light irradiation unit
40: control unit
50: input/output unit
70: Meibomian gland

Claims (9)

A light emitting diode (LED) that generates and outputs white light including visible light and infrared light, and the white light is irradiated so that the user irradiates the output white light to the eye part where the Meibomian gland is located a white light emitter including a laser pointer outputting a cross-shaped guide beam indicating a point;
A photographing unit that uses an infrared pass filter and an infrared image sensor to pass near infrared rays of 880 nm wavelength, to photograph the eye portion irradiated with the white light, and generate an infrared image in which the meibomian gland appears;
Multi-wavelength light irradiation unit for generating and irradiating multi-wavelength light to the meibomian gland; and
Including a control unit for controlling to generate the white light, photograph the eye, and generate the infrared image,
The multi-wavelength light irradiation unit,
A plurality of laser diodes (LD: Laser Diodes) outputting laser light of different wavelengths to generate multi-wavelength laser light; and
A beam synthesizer for synthesizing and outputting a plurality of laser lights output from the plurality of laser diodes into one laser light,
The plurality of laser diodes include a pair of laser diodes having a wavelength of 600 nm, a pair of laser diodes having a wavelength of 800 nm and a pair of laser diodes having a wavelength of 900 nm for melting fat in the meibomian gland,
The beam synthesizer increases the output power by up to two times by in-phase combining and outputting a pair of laser lights of the same wavelength input from a pair of laser diodes for each wavelength,
The beam combiner,
a polygonal pillar-shaped body in which the plurality of laser diodes are radially mounted on a side surface;
a reflector positioned at the center of the body and condensing the laser light output from the plurality of laser diodes toward an upper surface of the body;
An optical fiber stub positioned on an upper surface of the body and outputting light condensed through the reflector,
The reflector is formed in a polygonal pyramid shape having the same number of side surfaces as the number of the plurality of laser diodes so that laser light output from each laser diode is condensed and incident to the optical fiber stub,
Light irradiation for inducing oil discharge of the meibomian gland, characterized in that each laser light output from the plurality of laser diodes mounted outside the beam synthesizer is incident on each corresponding reflective surface and then reflected and concentrated at one point. Device.
delete delete delete delete delete delete According to claim 1,
The light irradiation device for inducing oil discharge of the meibomian gland, characterized in that the white light irradiation unit, the photographing unit and the multi-wavelength light irradiation unit are formed in the form of an integral probe.
According to claim 1,
The light irradiation device,
An input/output unit that receives a white light irradiation command for outputting the infrared image and generating and outputting the white light, a photographing command for generating the infrared image, and a multi-wavelength light irradiation command for generating and outputting the multi-wavelength light include,
The input/output unit comprises three foot switches that receive the white light irradiation command, the photographing command and the multi-wavelength light irradiation command by pressing the foot. Light irradiation device for inducing meibomian gland oil discharge.

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