WO2013057242A1 - Photo-stimulation device - Google Patents

Photo-stimulation device Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2013057242A1
WO2013057242A1 PCT/EP2012/070739 EP2012070739W WO2013057242A1 WO 2013057242 A1 WO2013057242 A1 WO 2013057242A1 EP 2012070739 W EP2012070739 W EP 2012070739W WO 2013057242 A1 WO2013057242 A1 WO 2013057242A1
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WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
light
light guide
eye
facets
previous
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/EP2012/070739
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Serge Habraken
Stéphane KRSMANOVIC
Original Assignee
Patrimoine De L'universite De Liege
Psychomed.Com
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Patrimoine De L'universite De Liege, Psychomed.Com filed Critical Patrimoine De L'universite De Liege
Publication of WO2013057242A1 publication Critical patent/WO2013057242A1/en

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Classifications

    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
    • A61N5/0613—Apparatus adapted for a specific treatment
    • A61N5/0618—Psychological treatment
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M21/02—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A61M2021/0027—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the hearing sense
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M21/00—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis
    • A61M2021/0005—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus
    • A61M2021/0044—Other devices or methods to cause a change in the state of consciousness; Devices for producing or ending sleep by mechanical, optical, or acoustical means, e.g. for hypnosis by the use of a particular sense, or stimulus by the sight sense
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/35—Communication
    • A61M2205/3576—Communication with non implanted data transmission devices, e.g. using external transmitter or receiver
    • A61M2205/3584—Communication with non implanted data transmission devices, e.g. using external transmitter or receiver using modem, internet or bluetooth
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61M—DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY; DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY; DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR
    • A61M2205/00—General characteristics of the apparatus
    • A61M2205/82—Internal energy supply devices
    • A61M2205/8206—Internal energy supply devices battery-operated
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
    • A61N2005/0626—Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
    • A61N2005/063—Radiation therapy using light comprising light transmitting means, e.g. optical fibres
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
    • A61N2005/0635—Radiation therapy using light characterised by the body area to be irradiated
    • A61N2005/0643—Applicators, probes irradiating specific body areas in close proximity
    • A61N2005/0645—Applicators worn by the patient
    • A61N2005/0647—Applicators worn by the patient the applicator adapted to be worn on the head
    • A61N2005/0648—Applicators worn by the patient the applicator adapted to be worn on the head the light being directed to the eyes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
    • A61N2005/065—Light sources therefor
    • A61N2005/0651—Diodes
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61N—ELECTROTHERAPY; MAGNETOTHERAPY; RADIATION THERAPY; ULTRASOUND THERAPY
    • A61N5/00—Radiation therapy
    • A61N5/06—Radiation therapy using light
    • A61N2005/0664—Details
    • A61N2005/0665—Reflectors
    • A61N2005/0666—Reflectors for redirecting light to the treatment area
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G02—OPTICS
    • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
    • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
    • G02B6/0001—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems
    • G02B6/0011—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings specially adapted for lighting devices or systems the light guides being planar or of plate-like form
    • G02B6/0033—Means for improving the coupling-out of light from the light guide
    • G02B6/0035—Means for improving the coupling-out of light from the light guide provided on the surface of the light guide or in the bulk of it
    • G02B6/0038—Linear indentations or grooves, e.g. arc-shaped grooves or meandering grooves, extending over the full length or width of the light guide

Definitions

  • the present invention is related to a photo- stimulation device for stimulating brain activity.
  • the brainwave pattern is influenced by the rhythm of repetitive sensorial stimuli. For example, when exposed to a constant rhythm of light entering the eyes, the brainwave pattern follows the received frequency inducing a state of deeper brain activity .
  • Document WO 2005/094941 discloses a system comprising optical deflection means for illuminating the eyes, the deflection means being either Fresnel refractive lenses or diffracting means. Nevertheless, in order to obtain sufficiently distributed illumination, several LEDs are used for each eye, which renders the system bulky. Furthermore, the LEDs are placed in the upper side and in front of the lens plane (i.e. out of plane), which further increases the bulkiness of the device.
  • the present invention aims to provide a compact device for photo-stimulation of the eyes, with minimised electricity consumption for a given eye illumination and providing a sufficiently homogeneous illumination .
  • the present invention is related to a device for providing homogeneous illumination of an eye, preferably for photo-stimulation purposes comprising: - a light source;
  • first light guide that is optically connected to said light source and comprising a plurality of reflecting facets embossed in the light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for extracting light having a uniform distribution in a direction essentially perpendicular to the first light guide ;
  • a second light guide that is optically connected to the first light guide and comprising a plurality of reflecting facets embossed in the second light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for producing in use a uniform light distribution in a direction oriented towards the eye;
  • the device according to the invention further comprises one or a suitable combination of at least two of the following features:
  • the external surface of the side of the light guides comprising the reflecting facets is coated with at least one metal layer;
  • the surface of the second light guide near the eye is a transparent or partially transparent surface, and the surface of the second light guide far from the eye is a reflective surface;
  • the reflective surface of the second light guide is coated with at least one metal layer or at least one other optical film to reflect the light;
  • the optical structures are patterned on at least one surface of the second light guide
  • At least one of the surfaces of the light guides except for the surfaces of the reflecting facets and the reflective surface of the second light guide, is coated with at least one optical film to enhance the transmission of light;
  • the light source comprises a Light Emitting Diode (LED) , preferably an RGB LED;
  • LED Light Emitting Diode
  • the embossed reflecting facets have a triangular cross section and horizontally extend from one side to the other side of the light guides;
  • the first and second light guides are separated by an air layer having a thickness comprised between 0.1 and 0.8 mm, in order to confine the light that is not reflected by the reflecting facets in the light guide;
  • the number of reflecting facets of the light guides is higher than 10;
  • the light guides have a concavity oriented in use to the eye and focuses the light to said eye, said concavity being preferably limited to horizontal concavity;
  • the means for immobilising the device on the head of the user are arranged to maintain, in use, a distance between the eye and the second light guide of less than 2.5 cm;
  • the means for immobilising the device on the head of the user has the shape of glasses, the second light guide replacing at least one of the glasses' lenses;
  • the device further comprises batteries and a control unit comprising data storage;
  • the device further comprises audio controlling device and headphones or other audio diffusion means;
  • the device further comprises communication means.
  • Fig. 1 represents a schematic front view of the working principle of the device according to the invention .
  • Fig. 2 represents a schematic side view of the working principle of the device according to the invention .
  • Fig. 3 represents side view (a) and top view
  • Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of an example of a first light guide of a device according to the invention, corresponding to fig. 3.
  • Fig. 5 represents a front view (a), top view
  • Fig. 6 represents a perspective view of an example of a second light guide with reflective facets according to the invention, corresponding to fig. 5.
  • Fig. 7 represents a front view (a), top view
  • Fig. 8 represents a perspective view of an example of a second light guide with optical structure according to the invention, corresponding to fig. 7.
  • Fig. 9 represents an example of glasses design according to the invention.
  • the present invention is related to a device for homogeneously illuminating an eye, for example for photo-stimulation purposes.
  • homogeneously illuminating means that the resulting illumination of the retina is essentially homogeneously distributed on a large surface of the retina.
  • a first light guide is used, the first light guide comprising reflecting facets for homogenously extracting from the light guide the light produced by a light source located on one side of the light guide.
  • the facet geometry is optimised in order to obtain a high directionality of the extracted light (see fig. 1) in a vertical direction downwards.
  • the light extracted from the first light guide is injected in a second light guide having the general shape of a glasses lens.
  • Said second light guide comprises optical structures, such as bumps or holes or embossed facets. The number, locations, angular orientations and sizes of those structures are arranged for producing a homogeneous illumination of the eye.
  • One example of said second light guide also comprises reflecting facets, reflecting the vertical light extracted from the first light guide towards the eye (see fig. 5 and 6) .
  • Another example of said second light guide comprises a plurality of micro bumps on the surface near the eye and the metal-coating treatment on the surface far from the eye.
  • the pattern of the micro bumps is optimised to produce a homogeneous illumination of the retina (see fig. 7 and 8) . Since the optical structures may have the dimensions under one millimeter, the structures can be imperceptible to the naked eye and the surface with such structures has a smooth appearance.
  • the shape of the second light guide has a curvature oriented towards the user's eye. This curvature induces light distribution problems when using prior art light sources.
  • the light distribution obtained by the first light guide ensures a homogeneous distribution throughout the second light guide.
  • the curvature is only horizontal.
  • the light guide is comprised between two surfaces having generating lines essentially parallel to the light coming from the first light guide, so that the vertical incoming light distribution is not disturbed by the curvature.
  • the obtained device is then fixed to means for immobilising the light guides in front of the user's eye.
  • the fixing means have the general shape of glasses, as represented in fig. 9.
  • the device comprises two pairs of light guides for illuminating both eyes simultaneously.
  • An advantage of using the first light guide of the invention to illuminate the second light guide is the improvement of the directionality of the light in comparison to distributed light sources.
  • the geometry of the different light guides and reflecting facets can be determined by ray-tracing simulation algorithm.
  • Such algorithm calculates the light ray splitting, reflecting and refracting through the light guide. Millions of rays are generated and propagated through the optical device to verify the light distribution at the eye level.
  • Commercial ray-tracing software such as ASAP (Advance Software for Analysis Programme) commercialised by BRO are available on the market .
  • a layer of transparent material having low refractive index is advantageously inserted between the first and second light guide in order to ensure total internal reflection.
  • a layer is advantageously a thin layer of air, preferably having a thickness comprised between 0.1 and 0.8mm.
  • the second light guide extends in a vertical curved plane (cylindrical paraboloid) presenting a concavity in the direction of the eye for focusing light mainly on the pupil and iris (see fig. 5 and 6) .
  • the first light guide follows the same shape in order to ensure optical connection (see fig. 3 and 4) .
  • the surfaces of the facets are metal coated.
  • the entire external sides of the light guides are preferably metal coated.
  • the material of the light guides may be chosen in such a way that total internal reflection occurs. In that case, the user may still see the external environment. This may be an advantage in the case of phototherapy, wherein constant illumination of the eyes is used, for example for seasonal depression treatment or circadian cycles disorder.
  • Examples of material having sufficient refractive indexes for ensuring such reflection are PMMA, polycarbonate and conventional glass (i.e. materials having critical angles lower than the reflection angles) .
  • the second light guide is located close to the eye, so that no accommodation of the vision on the facets occurs, thereby reducing the discrete perception of the illumination.
  • the distance between the user' s eye and the second light guide is no more than 2.5 cm, and preferably comprised between 1 cm and 2 cm.
  • the number of reflecting facets is advantageously selected for reducing the discrete perception of the illumination.
  • the out-of- focus position of the second light guide permits reducing the effective resolution of the eye, so that the different light spots induced by the facets are fused together on the user' s retina if the different facets are sufficiently numerous.
  • This phenomenon is already present when about 10 facets per light guide are used, but improves with the number of facets.
  • the complexity of the shape increases with the increasing number of facets. Above about 40 facets, improvements are hardly perceptible.
  • a good compromise between homogeneity and ease of production is a number of about 20 (+/-5) reflecting facets per light guide .
  • the facets are angularly and homogeneously distributed and converging to the eye pupil so as to produce a homogeneous illumination of the retina.
  • the average roughness of the reflecting surface (Ra) is preferably lower than 15 nm.
  • the light guides of the invention are made of polymeric glass such as PMMA or polycarbonate and are produced by injection moulding.
  • the portability of the device of the invention is advantageously improved by integrating batteries and a control unit in the glasses.
  • the control unit is used for controlling the intensity of the light source .
  • control unit is used for modulating the light intensity, according to predetermined frequency patterns stored in a memory.
  • the memory may either be internal memory or external memory, such as a flash memory card.
  • the device of the invention further comprises audio controlling means, such as mp3 reader (or the like) , so that the light modulation and the sound can be synchronised (correlated) by the control unit in order to induce a synergetic effect on the brain.
  • audio controlling means such as mp3 reader (or the like)
  • control unit may also include headphones.
  • the device of the invention also includes a communication unit, such as a Bluetooth connection, internal memory and connection means for reading external memory cards such as a micro-SD card.
  • a communication unit such as a Bluetooth connection
  • internal memory such as a hard disk drive
  • connection means for reading external memory cards such as a micro-SD card.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Biomedical Technology (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Anesthesiology (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Psychology (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • Social Psychology (AREA)
  • Child & Adolescent Psychology (AREA)
  • Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Psychiatry (AREA)
  • Hospice & Palliative Care (AREA)
  • Developmental Disabilities (AREA)
  • Radiology & Medical Imaging (AREA)
  • Pain & Pain Management (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
  • Hematology (AREA)
  • Eyeglasses (AREA)
  • Non-Portable Lighting Devices Or Systems Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

The present invention is related to a device for performing a homogeneous illumination of an eye comprising: - a light source (3); - a first light guide (1) that is optically connected to said light source comprising a plurality of reflecting facets (4) embossed in the light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for extracting light having a uniform distribution in a direction essentially perpendicular to the first light guide; - a second light guide (2) that is optically connected to the first light guide (1) and comprising a plurality of reflecting facets (6,12) embossed in the second light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for producing, a uniform light distribution oriented towards the eye (8); - means for immobilizing the device on the head of a user, - said first and second light guides having a concavity oriented to the eye.

Description

PHOTO-STIMULATION DEVICE
Field of the Invention
[0001] The present invention is related to a photo- stimulation device for stimulating brain activity.
State of the Art
[0002] It is known in the art that the brainwave pattern is influenced by the rhythm of repetitive sensorial stimuli. For example, when exposed to a constant rhythm of light entering the eyes, the brainwave pattern follows the received frequency inducing a state of deeper brain activity .
[0003] The combined effect of synchronous light and sound rhythm stimulating ears and eyes is known to be particularly efficient for such stimulation.
[0004] Depending on the intensity of light and modulation frequency, such stimulation has been used to enter meditative and/or hypnotic states. It has also been reported to induce stress relief or excitation, or to improve learning capacity.
[0005] In order to be able to induce such states anywhere as needed, portable devices for inducing such stimulation have been developed. For example, document WO 2008/131454 describes wearable glasses comprising LEDs placed in front of each eye, the light emitted by said LEDs being modulated by an electronic microcontroller. The disclosed device also integrates headphones and audio controlling devices. Using a single LED source in front of the eye will not produce a uniform illumination on the retina but only a small part of the retina surface will be illuminated. Indeed, the lateral extension of the source does not cover the view field of an eye: only the central (axial) area will be illuminated. The perception will be an intense light, dazzling the user.
[0006] For that reason, in order to improve the angular distribution of the incoming light, it has been proposed to use indirect illumination, wherein the light source illuminates a diffusive reflector placed in front of the eyes as disclosed in US 5599274. The drawback of such system is that only little of the incoming light is reflected to the eyes (less than about 10%) . For that reason, the power consumed by such LEDs for obtaining a useful effect is so high that a separate accumulator has to be used so as to obtain sufficient autonomy.
[0007] Document WO 2005/094941 discloses a system comprising optical deflection means for illuminating the eyes, the deflection means being either Fresnel refractive lenses or diffracting means. Nevertheless, in order to obtain sufficiently distributed illumination, several LEDs are used for each eye, which renders the system bulky. Furthermore, the LEDs are placed in the upper side and in front of the lens plane (i.e. out of plane), which further increases the bulkiness of the device.
Aims of the Invention
[0008] The present invention aims to provide a compact device for photo-stimulation of the eyes, with minimised electricity consumption for a given eye illumination and providing a sufficiently homogeneous illumination .
Summary of the Invention
[0009] The present invention is related to a device for providing homogeneous illumination of an eye, preferably for photo-stimulation purposes comprising: - a light source;
- a first light guide that is optically connected to said light source and comprising a plurality of reflecting facets embossed in the light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for extracting light having a uniform distribution in a direction essentially perpendicular to the first light guide ;
- a second light guide that is optically connected to the first light guide and comprising a plurality of reflecting facets embossed in the second light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for producing in use a uniform light distribution in a direction oriented towards the eye;
- means for immobilizing the device on the head of a user.
[0010] According to particular preferred embodiments, the device according to the invention further comprises one or a suitable combination of at least two of the following features:
- the external surface of the side of the light guides comprising the reflecting facets is coated with at least one metal layer;
- the surface of the second light guide near the eye is a transparent or partially transparent surface, and the surface of the second light guide far from the eye is a reflective surface;
- the reflective surface of the second light guide is coated with at least one metal layer or at least one other optical film to reflect the light;
- the optical structures are patterned on at least one surface of the second light guide;
- at least one of the surfaces of the light guides, except for the surfaces of the reflecting facets and the reflective surface of the second light guide, is coated with at least one optical film to enhance the transmission of light;
- at least one of surfaces of the light guides is coated with at least one protection layer;
- the light source comprises a Light Emitting Diode (LED) , preferably an RGB LED;
- the embossed reflecting facets have a triangular cross section and horizontally extend from one side to the other side of the light guides;
- the first and second light guides are separated by an air layer having a thickness comprised between 0.1 and 0.8 mm, in order to confine the light that is not reflected by the reflecting facets in the light guide;
- the number of reflecting facets of the light guides is higher than 10;
- the light guides have a concavity oriented in use to the eye and focuses the light to said eye, said concavity being preferably limited to horizontal concavity;
- the means for immobilising the device on the head of the user are arranged to maintain, in use, a distance between the eye and the second light guide of less than 2.5 cm;
- the means for immobilising the device on the head of the user has the shape of glasses, the second light guide replacing at least one of the glasses' lenses;
- the device further comprises batteries and a control unit comprising data storage;
- the device further comprises audio controlling device and headphones or other audio diffusion means;
- the device further comprises communication means.
Brief Description of the Drawings
[0011] Fig. 1 represents a schematic front view of the working principle of the device according to the invention . [0012] Fig. 2 represents a schematic side view of the working principle of the device according to the invention .
[0013] Fig. 3 represents side view (a) and top view
(b) of an example of a first light guide of a device according to the invention.
[0014] Fig. 4 represents a perspective view of an example of a first light guide of a device according to the invention, corresponding to fig. 3.
[0015] Fig. 5 represents a front view (a), top view
(b) and side view (c) of an example of a second light guide with reflective facets according to the invention.
[0016] Fig. 6 represents a perspective view of an example of a second light guide with reflective facets according to the invention, corresponding to fig. 5.
[0017] Fig. 7 represents a front view (a), top view
(b) and side view (c) of an example of a second light guide with optical structure according to the invention.
[0018] Fig. 8 represents a perspective view of an example of a second light guide with optical structure according to the invention, corresponding to fig. 7.
[0019] Fig. 9 represents an example of glasses design according to the invention.
Figure keys
1: first light guide
2: second light guide
3: light source
4: reflecting facet of the first light guide
5 : light beam
6: reflecting facet of the second light guide
7 : pupil
8 : eye
9: glasses like device 10: control unit
11: metal-coated side
12: optical structure of the second light guide
13: reflective surface of the second light guide
Detailed Description of the Invention
[0020] The present invention is related to a device for homogeneously illuminating an eye, for example for photo-stimulation purposes. In the present invention, "homogeneously illuminating" means that the resulting illumination of the retina is essentially homogeneously distributed on a large surface of the retina.
[0021] In the present description, words such as
"above", "below", "in front", "behind", "vertical" and "horizontal" are to be understood relative to the user's eye, considering a stand-up position.
[0022] In order to produce such homogenous illumination, a first light guide is used, the first light guide comprising reflecting facets for homogenously extracting from the light guide the light produced by a light source located on one side of the light guide. The facet geometry is optimised in order to obtain a high directionality of the extracted light (see fig. 1) in a vertical direction downwards.
[0023] The light extracted from the first light guide is injected in a second light guide having the general shape of a glasses lens. Said second light guide comprises optical structures, such as bumps or holes or embossed facets. The number, locations, angular orientations and sizes of those structures are arranged for producing a homogeneous illumination of the eye. One example of said second light guide also comprises reflecting facets, reflecting the vertical light extracted from the first light guide towards the eye (see fig. 5 and 6) .
[0024] Another example of said second light guide comprises a plurality of micro bumps on the surface near the eye and the metal-coating treatment on the surface far from the eye. The pattern of the micro bumps is optimised to produce a homogeneous illumination of the retina (see fig. 7 and 8) . Since the optical structures may have the dimensions under one millimeter, the structures can be imperceptible to the naked eye and the surface with such structures has a smooth appearance.
[0025] In order to have a better surrounding of the eye, the shape of the second light guide has a curvature oriented towards the user's eye. This curvature induces light distribution problems when using prior art light sources. The light distribution obtained by the first light guide ensures a homogeneous distribution throughout the second light guide.
[0026] Advantageously, in order to have homogeneous vertical distribution of the light in the second light guide, the curvature is only horizontal. This means that the light guide is comprised between two surfaces having generating lines essentially parallel to the light coming from the first light guide, so that the vertical incoming light distribution is not disturbed by the curvature.
[0027] The obtained device is then fixed to means for immobilising the light guides in front of the user's eye. Advantageously, the fixing means have the general shape of glasses, as represented in fig. 9. Usually, the device comprises two pairs of light guides for illuminating both eyes simultaneously.
[0028] An advantage of using the first light guide of the invention to illuminate the second light guide is the improvement of the directionality of the light in comparison to distributed light sources.
[0029] For example, the geometry of the different light guides and reflecting facets can be determined by ray-tracing simulation algorithm. Such algorithm calculates the light ray splitting, reflecting and refracting through the light guide. Millions of rays are generated and propagated through the optical device to verify the light distribution at the eye level. Commercial ray-tracing software such as ASAP (Advance Software for Analysis Programme) commercialised by BRO are available on the market .
[0030] In order to maintain the confinement of the light in the first light guide a layer of transparent material having low refractive index is advantageously inserted between the first and second light guide in order to ensure total internal reflection. Such a layer is advantageously a thin layer of air, preferably having a thickness comprised between 0.1 and 0.8mm.
[0031] Preferably, the second light guide extends in a vertical curved plane (cylindrical paraboloid) presenting a concavity in the direction of the eye for focusing light mainly on the pupil and iris (see fig. 5 and 6) . In that case, the first light guide follows the same shape in order to ensure optical connection (see fig. 3 and 4) .
[0032] In order to ensure the reflection of the light on the facets, at least the surfaces of the facets are metal coated. In order to sensorially isolate the user, the entire external sides of the light guides are preferably metal coated.
[0033] Alternatively, the material of the light guides may be chosen in such a way that total internal reflection occurs. In that case, the user may still see the external environment. This may be an advantage in the case of phototherapy, wherein constant illumination of the eyes is used, for example for seasonal depression treatment or circadian cycles disorder. Examples of material having sufficient refractive indexes for ensuring such reflection are PMMA, polycarbonate and conventional glass (i.e. materials having critical angles lower than the reflection angles) .
[0034] Preferably, the second light guide is located close to the eye, so that no accommodation of the vision on the facets occurs, thereby reducing the discrete perception of the illumination. Advantageously, the distance between the user' s eye and the second light guide is no more than 2.5 cm, and preferably comprised between 1 cm and 2 cm.
[0035] The number of reflecting facets is advantageously selected for reducing the discrete perception of the illumination. For instance, the out-of- focus position of the second light guide permits reducing the effective resolution of the eye, so that the different light spots induced by the facets are fused together on the user' s retina if the different facets are sufficiently numerous. This phenomenon is already present when about 10 facets per light guide are used, but improves with the number of facets. On the other hand, the complexity of the shape increases with the increasing number of facets. Above about 40 facets, improvements are hardly perceptible. A good compromise between homogeneity and ease of production is a number of about 20 (+/-5) reflecting facets per light guide .
[0036] Advantageously, the facets are angularly and homogeneously distributed and converging to the eye pupil so as to produce a homogeneous illumination of the retina.
[0037] In order to reduce the intensity loss due to the diffusion of light across interfaces, the average roughness of the reflecting surface (Ra) is preferably lower than 15 nm.
[0038] Preferably, the light guides of the invention are made of polymeric glass such as PMMA or polycarbonate and are produced by injection moulding.
[0039] The portability of the device of the invention is advantageously improved by integrating batteries and a control unit in the glasses. The control unit is used for controlling the intensity of the light source .
[0040] Advantageously, the control unit is used for modulating the light intensity, according to predetermined frequency patterns stored in a memory. The memory may either be internal memory or external memory, such as a flash memory card.
[0041] Preferably, the device of the invention further comprises audio controlling means, such as mp3 reader (or the like) , so that the light modulation and the sound can be synchronised (correlated) by the control unit in order to induce a synergetic effect on the brain.
[0042] As a further improvement, the control unit may also include headphones.
[0043] Advantageously, the device of the invention also includes a communication unit, such as a Bluetooth connection, internal memory and connection means for reading external memory cards such as a micro-SD card.

Claims

1. A device for performing a homogeneous illumination of an eye (8) comprising:
- a light source (3) ;
- a first light guide (1) that is optically connected to said light source comprising a plurality of reflecting facets (4) embossed in the light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for extracting light having a uniform distribution in a direction essentially perpendicular to the first light guide;
- a second light guide (2) that is optically connected to the first light guide (1) and comprising a plurality of reflecting facets (6,12) embossed in the second light guide, the number, angular orientations and sizes of those facets being arranged for producing, in use, a uniform light distribution in a direction oriented towards the eye (8);
- means for immobilizing the device on the head of a user, said first and second light guides having a concavity oriented in use to the eye.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the external surface (11) of the side of the light guides comprising the reflecting facets is coated with at least one metal layer.
3. The device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the surface of the second light guide (2) near the eye is a transparent or partially transparent surface, and the surface of the second light guide far from the eye is a reflective surface (11,13).
4. The device according to Claim 5, wherein the reflective surface (13) of the second light guide is coated with at least one metal layer or at least one other optical film to reflect the light.
5. The device according to any of the previous claims wherein the reflecting facets are included in optical structures (12), such as bumps or holes.
6. The device according claim 5, wherein the optical structures (12) are patterned on at least one surface of the second light guide (2) .
7. The device according to any of the preceding claims, at least one of the surfaces of the light guides (1,2), except for the surfaces of the reflecting facets and the reflective surface of the second light guide, is coated with at least one optical film to enhance the transmission of light.
8. The device according to any of the preceding claims, at least one of surfaces of the light guides (1,2) is coated with at least one protection layer.
9. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the light source (3) comprises a light emitting diode (LED) .
10. The device according to Claim 8, wherein the LED is an RGB LED.
11. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the embossed reflecting facets (4,6) have a triangular cross section
12. The device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the reflecting facets horizontally extend from one side to the other side of the light guides (1,2) .
13. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first (1) and second (2) light guides are separated by an air layer having a thickness comprised between 0.1 and 0.8 mm, in order to confine the light that is not reflected by the reflecting facets in the light guide .
14. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the number of reflecting facets (4,6) of the light guides is higher than 10.
15. The device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the light guides (1,2) have a concavity arranged to be oriented, in use, to the eye (8) and focusing the light on said eye (8) .
16. The device according to any of the previous claims, wherein the means for immobilising the device on the head of the user are arranged for maintaining, in use, a distance under 2.5 cm between the eye and the second light guide.
17. The device according Claim 10, wherein the means for immobilising the device on the head of the user has the shape of glasses (9), the second light guide replacing at least one of the glasses lenses.
18. The device according to any of the previous claims, further comprising batteries and a control unit (10) comprising means for data storage.
19. The device according to any of the previous claims, further comprising audio controlling device, headphones or other audio diffusion means.
20. The device according to any of the previous claims, further comprising communication means.
21. Use of the device of any of the previous claims for the photo-stimulation of a user.
PCT/EP2012/070739 2011-10-21 2012-10-19 Photo-stimulation device WO2013057242A1 (en)

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