WO2020064477A1

WO2020064477A1 - Ophthalmic device with a blinking illuminating element for reducing dyslexia effects

Info

Publication number: WO2020064477A1
Application number: PCT/EP2019/075099
Authority: WO
Inventors: Nicolas Lavillonniere; Guillaume GIRAUDE
Original assignee: Essilor International Compagnie Generale dOptique SA
Current assignee: EssilorLuxottica SA
Priority date: 2018-09-25
Filing date: 2019-09-19
Publication date: 2020-04-02
Anticipated expiration: 2021-03-25
Also published as: JP2022502695A; CN112789548B; KR102600431B1; EP3629080B1; EP3629080A1; US20220026745A1; CA3109169A1; KR20210031998A; CN112789548A; JP7383700B2; US12117672B2

Abstract

An ophthalmic device (10) is proposed for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer (20), comprising: - a frame intended to be worn by the wearer (20), - a blinking illuminating element (14) coupled to the frame comprising at least one light source configured to emit light in front of the wearer's head so as to lighten a medium (18) observed by the wearer (20), said at least one light source being configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predetermined frequency when the blinking illuminating element (14) is activated.

Description

The invention concerns an ophthalm ic device for reducing dyslexia effects. Particularly, the invention concerns an ophthalm ic device with a blinking illum inating elem ent for reducing dyslexia effects.

Developmental dyslexia is defined as a lasting difficulty with learning written language in spite of norm al intellectual abilities, an absence of psychiatric or neurological disorders, a normally stim ulating socio-cultural environment and appropriate schooling. This difficulty reflects a malfunction of the cognitive system responsible for reading. Dyslexia affects 8 to 10% of schoolchildren and persists throughout the individual's life, despite normal m otivation . Developmental dyslexias m ust be distinguished from acquired dyslexias which result from cerebral lesions. Most people with dyslexia often m ake the same kind of m istakes: they confuse m orphologically sim ilar letters (such as p and q, b and d) and m ake visual m istakes with words. They have difficulty in grasping whole words and often overcom e their problem s with deciphering by guessing words rather than really reading them . They also experience difficulty with graphophonem ic rules (in particular for complex sets of letters) often leading them to reverse letters, or even syllables. Dyslexia is som etimes accom panied by other disorders such as oral language (dysphasia) , written language (dysorthographia) , short-term m em ory, motor coordination, or also visuospatial processing disorders. Dyscalculia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder m ay also be included. Dyslexia m ust therefore be considered as an overall learning dysfunction.

Many ophthalm ic devices, particularly glasses, have been developed to help dyslexic wearers to improve their reading skills. The m ost known technique consists in providing glasses worn by the wearer with ophthalm ic lenses having coloured filters. Particularly, documents US 2010/060850 A1 , US 5,440,359 or GB 2 266 786 A disclose coloured filters provided on specific areas of the ophthalm ic lenses to treat dyslexia or reading disorders. However, it has been recently observed that a cause for dyslexia troubles may come from a lack of asym m etry between the two Maxwell centroids of the subject, one in each retina ( Le Floch A, Ropars G., 2017. Left- right asym m etry of the Maxwell spot centroids in adults without and with dyslexia. Proc. R. Soc. B 284: 20171380) . The Maxwell centroid is also called the fovea center or the blue scotom ae. Healthy subjects have an asym m etry in their two Maxwell centroids. This asym metry allows healthy subjects to have a dom inant eye to allow their brain to process only the im age seen by the dom inant eye when reading. The sym metry which has been observed for subjects with this kind of dyslexia prevents the subject to develop a dom inant eye and thereby has a direct im pact on the way the brain processes the im ages sim ultaneously perceived by the two eyes. Hence, the brain is unable to select which im age to process between the two eyes, resulting in a confusion between m irror im ages like « b » and « d » .

It has been also observed in this scientific publication that exposing with blinking light a m edium observed by the subject onto which characters are written im proves the reading skills of the subject. This blinking light is provided by a static and heavy laboratory power controller configured for experimental trials. The laboratory power controller is intended to be stationary. I ndeed, this laboratory power controller is bulky and difficult to m ove so that a regular and practical use is difficult to be considered.

A problem that the invention aims to solve is thus to provide a portable ophthalm ic device able to reduce dyslexia effects of a subject.

To solve this problem , the invention provides an ophthalm ic device for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer, com prising:

- a fram e intended to be worn by the wearer,

- a blinking illum inating elem ent coupled to the frame com prising at least one light source configured to em it light in front of the wearer’s head so as to lighten a m edium observed by the wearer, said at least one light source being configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predeterm ined frequency when the blinking illum inating element is activated. The wearable configuration of the ophthalmic device enables easy handling of the device and allows the subject to have a practical solution always available to reduce dyslexia effects. Providing an ophthalmic device which is easy to transport and practical make it easier to use regularly. Said device may thus be used by the subject himself at home or in various conditions.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, it further comprises a selective activating member configured to selectively activate the blinking illuminating element.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, the selective activating member comprises at least one among:

- a switch disposed onto the frame and configured to activate the blinking illuminating element on demand.

- a controlling terminal configured to remotely activate the blinking illuminating element.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, it further comprises an automatic activating member comprising a sensing member configured to detect a reading situation for the wearer and to activate the blinking illuminating element when a reading situation is detected.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, the sensing member comprises one or more among an accelerometer, an eye-tracking device, a gyroscope and a telemeter to detect a movement or a position of the wearer representative of a reading setting-up of the wearer.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, said predetermined frequency is at least 50Hz, preferably at least 70Hz.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, said frame forms a frame of eyeglasses and defines two orifices configured to each receive a lens therein, wherein said at least one light source is disposed in an upper portion of the frame between the two orifices and/or at the periphery of one among said two orifices.

According to an embodiment of the ophthalmic device, said at least one light source is configured to selectively provide different light emission spectrums. According to an em bodim ent of the ophthalm ic device, it further com prises a color selection switch com prising a plurality of positions each corresponding to a specific color of the light em itted by said at least one light source.

According to an em bodiment of the ophthalm ic device, said blinking illum inating elem ent is configured to focus light em itted by said at least one light source toward a m edium observed by the wearer with one among:

- a converging lens disposed in front of said at least one light source, or

- a concentrating grid in front of said at least one light source to provide a collimated light.

According to an em bodim ent of the ophthalm ic device, it further comprises:

- two lenses coupled to the fram e and configured to be each disposed in front of an eye of the wearer,

- a color filter applied to one of said two lenses and configured to absorb a specific light wavelength range.

According to an em bodim ent of the ophthalm ic device, said color filter is configured to absorb light having a wavelength between 390nm and 790nm , preferably between 390 and 490 nm .

According to an em bodim ent of the ophthalm ic device, said color filter is applied to only a predeterm ined portion of the lens used by the wearer in a reading situation.

According to an em bodim ent of the ophthalm ic device, said color filter is configured to be selectively actuated.

The invention also refers to a m ethod for m anufacturing an ophthalm ic device for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer,

- providing a frame intended to be worn by the wearer,

- providing a blinking illum inating elem ent com prising at least one light source configured to em it light in front of the wearer’s head so as to lighten a m edium observed by the wearer, said at least one light source being configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predetermined frequency when the blinking illuminating element is activated

- coupling the blinking illuminating element to the frame.

The invention is described in more detail below by way of the figures that show preferred embodiments of the invention.

Figure 1 schematically shows an ophthalmic device worn by a wearer in reading situation, the ophthalmic device providing light to a medium read by the wearer.

Figure 2 schematically shows a perspective view of an embodiment of the ophthalmic device of figure 1.

Figures 3 and 4 schematically show perspective frontal views of two other embodiments of the ophthalmic device of figure 1.

As shown on figure 1 , an ophthalm ic device 10 is provided for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer 20. Particularly, said ophthalmic device 10 is configured to reduce effects of developmental dyslexia as defined above.

Said ophthalmic device 10 comprises a frame 12 intended to be worn by the wearer 20 and a blinking illuminating element 14 coupled to the frame 12. The frame 12 is configured to be supported by the head of the wearer 20. In other words, the weight of the frame 12 is preferably fully supported by the wearer’s head. The frame 12 is preferably configured to be put in front of the wearer’s face.

The blinking illuminating element 14 comprises a light source 16 configured to emit light in front of the wearer’s head. Particularly, said light source 16 is configured to lighten a medium 18 observed by the wearer 20. In a preferred embodiment shown on figure 1, said light source 16 is configured to emit light in the form of a cone 23 converging from a base 24 located in the area of the medium 18 to the wearer’s head. In other words, said light source 16 is configured to fully enlighten an“A4” page (21 c 29,7 cm) positioned in front of the wearer’s eyes at a distance of at least 40 cm. The medium 18 is for example a book observed by the wearer 20. As an alternative to only one light source 16, the blinking illuminating element 14 may comprises a plurality of light sources 16. In other words, the blinking illuminating element 14 may com prises at least one light source 1 6. The light source 16 is preferably a light-em itting diode ( LED) .

The light source 16 is configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predeterm ined frequency when the blinking illum inating element is activated. I n other words, the light source 1 6 is configured to provide a blinking light toward the m edium 18 at a predeterm ined frequency. Said predeterm ined frequency is preferably at least 50Hz, m ost preferably at least 70Hz. This blinking light em itted toward the medium 1 8 observed by the wearer allows to im prove its reading skills by reducing dyslexia effects. The ophthalm ic device 20 comprises a controller (not shown) configured to successively switch on and switch off the light source 16 at the predeterm ined frequency. The controller may be formed by an electronic circuit coupled to the frame 12.

Said light source 16 is preferably coupled to the frame 12 so that the em itted light direction depends on the orientation of the wearer’s head. Hence, when the frame 12 m oves from a first to a second orientation at an angle A, the direction of the em itted light also moves from a first to a second orientation at a sam e angle A. The blinking illum inating element 10 thus does not require any m anipulation from the wearer to efficiently point the light em itted by the light source 16.

The light source 16 m ay be chosen with a predeterm ined light em ission spectrum . Hence, a specific color may be chosen for the light em itted onto the m edium 18. A better color contrast of the characters written on the m edium 18 may be provided to improve the reading capability of the wearer. Particularly, it allows the wearer to adapt the color contrast depending on the am bient lum inosity. Furtherm ore, the light source 16 m ay be configured to selectively provide different light em ission spectrums. I n other words, the light color provided to the medium 18 may be changed to im prove color contrast in real-time. To do so, the ophthalm ic device 10 may further com prise a color selection switch com prising a plurality of positions each corresponding to a specific color of the light em itted by said light source 16. This color selection switch m ay be a slider button em bedded on the frame 12, a single button switching from one pre-defined color to another on each press or a remote- control button.

To prevent scattering of the light em itted by the light source 16, the blinking illum ination elem ent 14 m ay comprise a converging lens disposed in front of said light source 16 to make the light converge toward the m edium 18. As an alternative to the converging lens, the blinking illum ination element 14 may further com prise a concentrating grid in front of said light source to provide a collim ated light. This collimated light also allows to prevent scattering of the light em itted by the light source 16. These two solutions, converging lens and concentrating grid, allow to focus the light on the reading medium at a predeterm ined distance, preferably from 20 cm to 1 m . The average reading distance between a m edium and the eyes is generally around 40 cm for an adult and 30 cm for a child. I t allows to prevent annoyance for external viewers while increasing the efficiency of the light source 16.

A preferred embodiment of the fram e 12 is shown on figure 2 in which the fram e 12 is in the form of an eyeglasses’ frame. I n this preferred embodiment, the frame 12 comprises a body 26 within which the two orifices 22 are formed. Each orifice 22 is configured to receive a lens 24 therein. Particularly, the lens 24 is preferably an ophthalm ic lens. By“ophthalm ic lens” we m ean a corrective or non-corrective lens which is suitable to be received within an orifice 22 of the fram e 12. Each orifice 22 is positioned to face an eye of the wearer 20 so that each lens 24 is disposed in front of an eye of the wearer 20.

The fram e 12 also comprises two arm s 28 extending from the body 26 and configured to each contact a side portion of the wearer’s face. Each arm 28 preferably com prises a recess configured to be received by an ear of the wearer 20 to support the frame 12.

The ophthalm ic device 10 further com prises a battery embedded in one of the arm s 28 to power the light source 16. More generally, one or m ore batteries m ay be embedded in each arm 28 of the fram e 12. The battery also powers the controller and all electronic components embedded in or coupled to the fram e 12, as for example a sensing m em ber and a switch. When the blinking illum inating element 14 comprises one light source 16, it is preferably disposed at a central area of the fram e 12. Particularly, the light source 16 is preferably disposed in an upper portion of the fram e 12 between the two orifices 22. I n other words, the light source 16 is preferably disposed at an arch extending between the two orifices 22. When the blinking illum inating element 14 com prises at least two light sources 16, at least one light source 16 is disposed at a peripheral portion of the fram e 12. Preferably, a light source 16 is disposed at the periphery of one among said two orifices 22. The peripheral portion preferably corresponds to a tem poral side of the frame 12 at an end 29 of an arm 28. Therefore, in a configuration with two or more light sources 1 6, the ophthalm ic device 10 preferably com prises at least one light source 16 at each side of the wearer’s face.

When the frame 12 is in the form of eyeglasses, the ophthalm ic device 10 form s a portative and light solution for reducing dyslexia effects of a wearer 20. Furthermore, the ophthalm ic device 10 allows to reduce dyslexia effects without changing the characteristics of the lenses 24. Hence, reducing dyslexia effects and correction are achieved with separate and independent means all provided on a sole pair of eyeglasses. This allows all usual manufacturing steps (for exam ple grinding and coating) to be made on the lenses 24 thereby providing a full ophthalm ic solution.

As an alternative to the preferred embodiment of figure 2, the fram e 12 may be of any shape allowing the light source 1 6 to em it light toward a medium 18 observed by the wearer 20.

The ophthalm ic device 1 0 m ay further com prise a selective activating mem ber (not shown) or activating switch configured to selectively activate the blinking illum inating elem ent 14. The selective activating m em ber m ay com prise a switch disposed onto the fram e 12. I n this case, the blinking illum inating elem ent 14 may be activated on demand by the wearer. The switch is coupled to the fram e 12 so that the wearer is able to press the switch to activate the blinking illum inating element 14. The switch thus provides a close activation of the light source 16.

The selective activating member may also com prise a controlling term inal configured to rem otely activate the blinking illum inating elem ent 14. This controlling term inal may be a sm artphone or a computer configured to rem otely activate the light source 16 using a suitable m obile application or software.

The ophthalm ic device 10 may further com prise an automatic activating m ember com prising a sensing m em ber configured to detect a reading situation for the wearer. The autom atic activating m ember is also configured to activate the blinking illum inating elem ent 14 when a reading situation is detected. For exam ple, the sensing mem ber m ay detect a posture or a m ovement of the wearer representative of a reading situation. To achieve this detection, the sensing mem ber comprises one or more among an accelerometer, an eye-tracking device, a gyroscope and a telem eter to detect a movem ent or a position of the wearer representative of a reading setting-up of the wearer 20. The eye-tracking device m ay track gaze direction of the wearer to determ ine the reading situation by measuring eyes vergence and patterns of saccades or use specific areas of the lens known to be related to reading (such as the near vision point) .

As shown on figure 3, the ophthalm ic device m ay further comprise two lenses 24 coupled to the frame 12 and a color filter 30 applied to one of said two lenses 24. The color filter 30 is configured to absorb a specific light wavelength range to help the brain of the wearer to get rid of the lack of asym metry between the two Maxwell centroids by introducing a bias in the contrast perceived by the two eyes. Said specific wavelength range is preferably between 390nm and 790nm , or in a more general m anner between 400 nm and 800nm .

This bias can be done by using the absence of blue cones photoreceptors in the Maxwell centroid. I n this case, the color filter 30 is preferably designed to cut the light perceived by the green and red cones rem aining in the Maxwell centroid. These green and red cones have an absorption peak of respectively 533 nm and 564 nm for a normal eye, i.e. a healthy subject which does not suffer from dyslexia. The blue cones have an absorption peak of 437 nm . Thus, the specific wavelength range is most preferably between 390 and 490 nm , or m ore generally between 400 nm and 500 nm , to fit the blue cone absorption spectrum . This most preferred range allows to set the color 30 filter with a half-width of at most 50 nm to prevent overlapping with the green cones. Thus, this blue cone absorption spectrum filter provided on one lens 24 allows to reduce red and green light for respectively red and green cones photoreceptors thereby creating an asym metry of contrast between the two Maxwell centroids of the wearer’s eyes.

The color filter 30 m ay be applied to an internal surface of the lens 24 intended to face the eye of the wearer 20, an external surface of the lens opposite to the internal surface or both. The color filter 30 m ay be a film lam inated onto the lens 24.

To prevent distortion of the color perception in no-reading situations, the color filter 30 m ay be configured to be selectively actuated. I n other words, the color filter 30 m ay be activated only in reading situations.

The color filter 30 fully covers the surface of the lens 24 in the embodiment of figure 3. Alternatively, the color filter 30 may only partly cover the surface of the lens 24 to reduce global color perception discomfort and cosmetic perception from an observer point of view. When the color filter 30 partly covers the surface of the lens 24, the color filter 30 preferably covers at most 70% , m ost preferably at most 60% , of the whole surface of the lens 24.

As shown on figure 4, said color filter 30 may be provided on the lens 24 only in a predeterm ined portion 32 of the lens 24. The predeterm ined portion is preferably a zone explored by the eye when reading. I n other words, the predeterm ined portion 32 is chosen to be a portion scanned by the visual axis of the wearer’s eye when the wearer 20 is in a reading situation. Particularly, the predeterm ined portion 32 is predom inantly positioned between the nose of the wearer 20 and the optical center O of the eye. The predeterm ined portion 32 m ay correspond to central and near vision spots of the lens 24. The predeterm ined portion 32 can also be m easured m ore accurately to provide a custom ized solution by using known eye-tracking device so as to m easure the zone of the lens 24 used by the wearer gaze when reading. The advantage of this solution is that the color filtering can be applied on dem and and lim ited to the useful area, preserving both cosm etic and global color perception. According to the embodiment of figure 4, the predeterm ined portion 32 com prises an upper portion 34 extending along at most 90% , preferably at most 80% , of the width of the lens 24 along a first lens axis X. The predeterm ined portion 32 also com prises a lower portion 36 extending along at m ost 40% , preferably at m ost 30% , of the width of the lens 24 along the first lens axis X. The predeterm ined portion 32 preferably extends along at most 90% of the height of the lens 24 along a second axis Y orthogonal to the first lens axis X.

The color filter 30 m ight also be applied to a custom ized portion of the lens, depending on individual eye-head coordination during reading task.

I n the em bodim ent of figure 4, the blinking illum inating elem ent 14 com prises two light sources 16 disposed at the peripheral portion of the fram e 12, i.e. at the end 29 of the arm s 28.

Moreover, as an alternative to the color filter 30, a decrease in the contrast perceived by one wearer’s eye may be obtained by introducing a Rx shift in one of the lenses 24. This would help the brain of the wearer to get rid of the lack of asym m etry between the two Maxwell centroids. This shift of optical power may be from 0.25 to 0.50 diopters. Preferably, the shift of optical power corresponds to a shift in cylinder of 0.25 to 0.50 diopters to reintroduce an asym metry between the two Maxwell centroids.

This shift may be achieved by adding to a lens 24 an active system able to create an extra optical power or extra optical cylinder in the predeterm ined portion 32. This additional optical system m ay be active and linked to a battery em bedded in the frame 12. The system m ay be also connected to a switch to make it working only on demand (when reading) or can be coupled with a sensor, like an accelerom eter or an eye-tracking device, to detect reading situations and only power the system at that tim e. The active optical system can be an active pad with liquid crystals. This active optical system may add an optical power or cylinder of about 0.50D when activated. This asym m etry obtained by a shift in optical power allows to provide a contrast without any filter on the lens 24 so that the ophthalm ic device 1 0 has a better appearance for the wearer 20. The invention also refers to a method for manufacturing an ophthalmic device 10 for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer. The method comprises providing a frame 12 intended to be worn by the wearer 20 and a blinking illuminating element 14. Said blinking illuminating element 14 comprises at least one light source 16 configured to emit light in front of the wearer’s head so as to lighten a medium 18 observed by the wearer 20. Said at least one light source 16 is configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predetermined frequency when the blinking illuminating element 14 is activated. The method further comprises coupling the blinking illuminating element 14 to the frame 12 to obtain ophthalmic device 10.

Claims

CLAI MS

1. An ophthalmic device (10) for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer (20), comprising:

- a frame (12) intended to be worn by the wearer (20),

- a blinking illuminating element (14) coupled to the frame (12) comprising at least one light source (16) configured to emit light in front of the wearer’s head so as to lighten a medium (18) observed by the wearer (20), said at least one light source (16) being configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predetermined frequency when the blinking illuminating element (14) is activated.

2. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 1, further comprising a selective activating member configured to selectively activate the blinking illuminating element (14).

3. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 2, wherein the selective activating member comprises at least one among:

- a switch disposed onto the frame (12) and configured to activate the blinking illuminating element (14) on demand.

- a controlling terminal configured to remotely activate the blinking illuminating element (14).

4. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 2 or 3, further comprises an automatic activating member comprising a sensing member configured to detect a reading situation for the wearer (20) and to activate the blinking illuminating element (14) when a reading situation is detected.

5. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 4, wherein the sensing member comprises one or more among an accelerometer, an eye-tracking device, a gyroscope and a telemeter to detect a movement or a position of the wearer (20) representative of a reading setting-up of the wearer (20).

6. The ophthalmic device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said predetermined frequency is at least 50Hz, preferably at least 70Hz.

7. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 6, wherein said frame forms a frame (12) of eyeglasses and defines two orifices (22) configured to each receive a lens (24) therein, wherein said at least one light source (16) is disposed in an upper portion of the frame (12) between the two orifices (22) and/or at the periphery of one among said two orifices (22).

8. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 6 or 7, wherein said at least one light source (16) is configured to selectively provide different light emission spectrums.

9. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 8, further comprising a color selection switch comprising a plurality of positions each corresponding to a specific color of the light emitted by said at least one light source (16).

10. The ophthalmic device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said blinking illuminating element (14) is configured to focus light emitted by said at least one light source (16) toward a medium (18) observed by the wearer (20) with one among:

- a converging lens disposed in front of said at least one light source (16), or

- a concentrating grid in front of said at least one light source (16) to provide a collimated light.

11. The ophthalmic device (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising:

- two lenses (24) coupled to the frame (12) and configured to be each disposed in front of an eye of the wearer (20),

- a color filter (30) applied to one of said two lenses (24) and configured to absorb a specific light wavelength range.

12. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 11, wherein said color filter (30) is configured to absorb light having a wavelength between 390nm and 790nm, preferably between 390 and 490 nm.

13. The ophthalmic device (10) according to claim 11 or 12, wherein said color filter (30) is applied to only a predetermined portion (32) of the lens (24) used by the wearer (20) in a reading situation.

14. The ophthalmic device (10) according to any one of claims 11 to 13, wherein said color filter (30) is configured to be selectively actuated.

15. A method for manufacturing an ophthalmic device (10) for reducing dyslexia effects for a wearer,

- providing a frame (12) intended to be worn by the wearer (20),

- providing a blinking illuminating element (14) comprising at least one light source (16) configured to emit light in front of the wearer’s head so as to lighten a medium (18) observed by the wearer (20), said at least one light source (16) being configured to be successively switched on and switched off at a predetermined frequency when the blinking illuminating element (14) is activated

- coupling the blinking illuminating element (14) to the frame (12).