Patent Publication Number: US-2022218203-A1

Title: Non-contact portable tonometry system and tonometry method using difference in infrared intensity

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a tonometry system for measuring intraocular pressure, which allows a user to early diagnose and prevent glaucoma and the like. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Glaucoma is one of the three major eye diseases that cause blindness along with diabetic retinopathy and macular degeneration. Because there is no specific symptom from the beginning to the end of the onset of disease, when a patient receives a diagnosis of having glaucoma, there are many cases of receiving a diagnosis as end-stage glaucoma in which the disease has been already progressed. 
     The major cause of glaucoma is that when a liquid, called the aqueous humor, filling a space between the cornea and the iris is generated more than in normal people, or when the flow of aqueous humor is hindered to cause a reduction in discharge, the intraocular pressure is increased. The increased intraocular pressure presses on the optic nerve present in the retina or causes damage, and eventually leads to blindness. Therefore, in order to diagnose and prevent glaucoma at an early stage, there is a need for a system for measuring intraocular pressure (also referred to as a ‘tonometry system’) that enables patients to periodically measure and manage intraocular pressure by themselves. 
     The conventional tonometry system may be classified into contact type and non-contact type tonometry systems. The contact-type tonometry system may be again classified into intraocular pressure type and applanation type tonometers, wherein the former uses a method in which a plunger is directly brought into contact with the cornea, then a displacement of the plunger is measured, and the measured displacement is converted into intraocular pressure, and the latter uses a method in which a pressure body is brought into contact with the eyeball, then a force to flatten a certain area of the cornea is measured, and the measured force is converted into intraocular pressure. 
     The biggest problem of the contact-type tonometry system is that it requires eye drop anesthesia by an expert, and corneal damage and infection of infectious eye disease occur as the plunger or the pressure body directly comes into contact with the cornea. On the other hand, the non-contact tonometry system has advantages of short measurement time and no need for eye drop anesthesia, whereas has disadvantages in that, when the corneal surface is irregular, the obtained measurement value is inaccurate, such that there is a limitation in miniaturization, and it is expensive. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Problems to be Solved by Invention 
     An object of the present invention is to provide a non-contact portable tonometry system and method for measuring intraocular pressure using a difference in infrared intensity, which enable a user to perform periodic eye examination and early detection of glaucoma by diagnosing glaucoma in advanced stages at home, thus to minimize damage due to the disease. 
     Means for Solving Problems 
     In order to achieve the above object, according to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a non-contact portable tonometry system for measuring intraocular pressure using a difference in infrared intensity, which includes: a nozzle module; an infrared ray sensor; and a controller. The nozzle module is configured to receive compressed air from a compressed air supply source and spray it into a cornea of a subject through an air spray port, thus to cause a corneal deformation. The infrared ray sensor is disposed in the nozzle module to emit infrared rays to the cornea and measure an amount of light reflected from the cornea. The controller is configured to convert the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor before and after the deformation of the cornea into intraocular pressure. 
     Herein, the infrared ray sensor may include a sensor support block disposed in the nozzle module, a light emitting element supported by the sensor support block to emit infrared rays to the cornea, a pair of light receiving elements respectively disposed on both sides of the light emitting element and supported by the sensor support block to receive the light reflected from the cornea and measure the amount of light. 
     In addition, the nozzle module may include a nozzle body in which the sensor support block is fixed at a central portion thereof and an air supply port for receiving the compressed air from the compressed air supply source is formed at an outer circumference portion thereof, and a nozzle tip which has the air spray port formed in a central portion thereof to accommodate the sensor support block together with the nozzle body, and is configured to receive the compressed air supplied through the air supply port between the nozzle body and the nozzle tip to spray it through the air spray port. 
     According to a further embodiment, the non-contact portable tonometry system using a difference in infrared intensity may include a pressure sensor disposed in the nozzle module to receive the compressed air which is sprayed from the nozzle module and reflected by the cornea to measure pneumatic pressure. Herein, the controller converts the pneumatic pressure measured by the pressure sensor before and after the deformation of the cornea into intraocular pressure in connection with the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for measuring intraocular pressure using a difference in infrared intensity, which includes: spraying compressed air into a cornea of a subject through an air spray port, thus to cause a corneal deformation, emitting infrared rays to the cornea to measure an amount of light reflected to the air spray port from the cornea by an infrared ray sensor, and converting the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor before and after the deformation of the cornea into intraocular pressure. 
     Herein, the step of measuring the amount of light may include emitting infrared rays to the cornea by a light emitting element, and receiving the light reflected from the cornea by the light receiving elements disposed on both sides of the light emitting element to measure the amount of light. 
     According to a further embodiment, the method may include: after the step of spraying compressed air to cause a corneal deformation, receiving the compressed air reflected from the cornea to measure pneumatic pressure by a pressure sensor, and in this case, the pneumatic pressure measured by the pressure sensor before and after the deformation of the cornea may be converted into intraocular pressure in connection with the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     According to the present invention, the non-contact tonometry allows the subject to use it hygienically without any objection, and the infrared ray sensor is integrated into the nozzle module to make the system compact and portable. In addition, even if the corneal surface is irregular, it is possible to accurately measure the intraocular pressure, and by applying a relatively inexpensive infrared ray sensor, the system can be easily developed for home use. As a result, even at home, patients can diagnose glaucoma in advance by themselves, enabling periodic eye examinations and early detection of glaucoma, and thereby minimizing damage due to the disease. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a non-contact portable tonometry system using a difference in infrared intensity according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a nozzle module extracted from the system shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle module shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a front view of the nozzle module shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken on line B-B in  FIG. 4 . 
         FIG. 7  is a schematic view illustrating an example of the configuration of a pressure sensor. 
     
    
    
     MODE FOR CARRYING OUT INVENTION 
     Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Herein, same reference numerals will be denoted to the same configuration, and repeated descriptions as well as the publicly known functions and configurations that are judged to be able to make the purport of the present invention unnecessarily obscure will not be described in detail. Such examples are provided for completely describing explaining the present invention to persons having ordinary knowledge and skills in the related art. Therefore, shapes and sizes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated for clearer description. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating a non-contact portable tonometry system using a difference in infrared intensity according to an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating a nozzle module extracted from the system shown in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle module shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4  is a front view of the nozzle module shown in  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view taken on line A-A in  FIG. 4 .  FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view taken on line B-B in  FIG. 4 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , a non-contact portable tonometry system  100  using a difference in infrared intensity according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a nozzle module  110 , an infrared ray sensor  120 , and a controller  130 . 
     The nozzle module  110  receives compressed air from the compressed air supply source  140  and sprays it into a cornea  10  of a subject through an air spray port  111 , thus to cause a deformation in the cornea  10 . The compressed air supply source  140  sucks air and compresses it, and then supplies the compressed air to the nozzle module  110 . For example, the compressed air supply source  140  may include an air compressor and a valve. The air compressor may be configured in a diaphragm type that sucks external air from an inlet through a filter and compresses it as a thin elastic plate reciprocates by a motor. 
     The valve may selectively supply the compressed air in the air compressor to the nozzle module  110  by opening and closing an outlet of the air compressor. The air compressor and valve may be controlled by the controller  130 . The nozzle module  110  may be mounted on an outside of the compressed air supply source  140  to be connected to the compressed air supply source  140  in an air communication manner. 
     The infrared ray sensor  120  is disposed in the nozzle module  110  and emits infrared rays to the cornea  10  to measure an amount of light reflected from the cornea  10 . Herein, the infrared rays refer to electromagnetic waves having a longer wavelength than visible rays. 
     The infrared ray sensor  120  is configured to emit infrared rays having a wavelength in a range that does not damage the cornea  10 . The infrared ray sensor  120  may emit infrared rays to the cornea  10  to enable the system to measure intraocular pressure while preventing the subject from experiencing glare. 
     The infrared ray sensor  120  irradiates the entire surface of the cornea  10  with infrared rays and detects an amount of infrared rays reflected from the surface of the cornea  10 . Therefore, even if the surface of the cornea  10  is irregular, it is possible to accurately measure the intraocular pressure. The controller  130  converts the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor  120  before and after the deformation of the cornea  10  into intraocular pressure. When compressed air is applied to the cornea  10 , the cornea  10  is deformed, and a curvature of the surface of the cornea  10  is changed according to a degree of the deformation of the cornea  10 . A path of infrared rays reflected by the cornea  10  is changed due to a change in the curvature of the surface of the cornea  10  which is generated according to the intraocular pressure, such that a difference in the amount of infrared rays detected by the infrared ray sensor  120  occurs. 
     Accordingly, the controller  130  may determine whether or not glaucoma occurs by converting the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor  120  before and after the deformation of the cornea  10  into intraocular pressure using a correlation model indicating the correlation between the amount of infrared rays and the intraocular pressure. 
     The controller  130  may be mounted outside the compressed air supply source  140 , or the controller  130  may be built into the compressed air supply source  140 . The controller  130  may control the non-contact portable tonometry system  100  as a whole by receiving a system on/off command and an intraocular pressure measurement start command from a user through a user interface  131 , and controlling the compressed air supply source  140  and the infrared ray sensor  120 . The controller  130  may display the measured intraocular pressure through a display unit  136 . 
     As described above, according to the non-contact portable tonometry system  100 , the non-contact tonometry allows the subject to use it hygienically without any objection, and the infrared ray sensor  120  is integrated into the nozzle module  110  to make the system compact and portable. In addition, even if the surface of the cornea  10  is irregular, it is possible to accurately measure the intraocular pressure, and by applying a relatively inexpensive infrared ray sensor  120 , the system can be easily developed for home use. As a result, even at home, patients can diagnose glaucoma in advance by themselves, enabling periodic eye examinations and early detection of glaucoma, and thereby minimizing damage due to the disease. 
     Meanwhile, the infrared ray sensor  120  may include a sensor support block  121 , a light emitting element  122 , and a pair of light receiving elements  123 . 
     The sensor support block  121  is disposed in the nozzle module  110 . The sensor support block  121  may include a block head  121   a  and a block body  12  lb. The block head  121   a  may be formed in a shape in which an outer diameter is gradually decreased toward a front end thereof facing the cornea  10 . That is, the block head  121   a  may be formed in a shape tapered toward the front end thereof facing the cornea  10 . The block head  121   a  may have a concavely curved groove in a form of a hemisphere or a dome from the front end. The light emitting element  122  is disposed in the front groove of the block head  121   a  with a light emitting portion thereof being exposed to an outside, and the light receiving elements  123  are disposed therein with each light receiving portion thereof being exposed to the outside. In addition, when the system is further provided with pressure sensors  150 , sensing portions of the pressure sensors  150  are disposed in the front groove of the block head  121   a  with sensing portions thereof being exposed to the outside. Accordingly, the front groove of the block head  121   a  may collect infrared rays reflected from the cornea  10  as much as possible to transmit them to the light receiving elements  123 , and may collect the compressed air reflected by the cornea  10  as much as possible to transmit it to the pressure sensors  150 . 
     The block body  121   b  may be coaxially connected to a rear end of the block head  121   a  in a cylindrical shape having an outer diameter smaller than the maximum outer diameter of the block head  121   a . Accordingly, a boundary portion between the block body  121   b  and the block head  121   a  may be formed in a stepped shape. Therefore, the sensor support block  121  can be stably supported by the nozzle body  112  by placing the stepped portion around a fitting groove of the nozzle body  112  while the block body  121   b  is fitted in a fitting groove of the nozzle body  112 . In addition, the stepped portion of the sensor support block  121  may be bonded around the fitting groove of the nozzle body  112  using an adhesive or the like. 
     The light emitting element  122  is supported by the sensor support block  121  to emit infrared rays to the cornea  10 . The light emitting element  122  may include a light emitting diode that emits infrared rays. The light emitting element  122  may be controlled and driven by the controller  130 . 
     The light emitting element  122  may be mounted by penetrating the sensor support block  121  in a longitudinal direction while the light emitting portion is exposed to the outside through a center of the front end groove of the block head  121   a . The sensor support block  121  may expose the light emitting portion of the light emitting element  122  through an exposure hole having a smaller diameter than the hole through which the body of the light emitting element  122  is inserted. 
     The pair of light receiving elements  123  are respectively disposed on both sides of the light emitting element  122 , and are supported by the sensor support block  121  to receive the light reflected from the cornea  10  and measure the amount of light. The light receiving element  123  may be formed of a photodiode or the like. The light receiving element  123  may convert the measured amount of light into an electrical signal and provide it to the controller  130 . 
     That is, the light receiving elements  123  may measure the amount of light before and after the deformation of the cornea  10 , convert the measured amount of light into an electrical signal, and provide it to the controller  130 . The controller  130  may convert the electrical signal provided from the light receiving elements  123  before and after the deformation of the cornea  10  into intraocular pressure. 
     The light receiving elements  123  may be mounted in the sensor support block  121  by penetrating with being inclined closer to the center in the longitudinal direction while each receiving portion thereof is exposed to an outside through the center of the front end groove of the block head  121   a . The light receiving elements  123  may be symmetrically disposed about the light emitting element  122 . Accordingly, the light receiving elements  123  may receive the infrared rays reflected from the cornea  10  as much as possible. To accurately measure the intraocular pressure, initial alignment of the nozzle module  110  with respect to the cornea  10  is important. When the nozzle module  110  is initially positioned with respect to the cornea  10 , a difference in voltage measured by the pair of light receiving elements  123  may be used for initial alignment of the nozzle module  110  with respect to the cornea  10 . 
     For example, when it is determined that the difference in the voltage measured by the light receiving elements  123  is within an allowable range, the controller  130  may recognize that the nozzle module  110  is positioned at a target position with respect to the cornea  10  and drive the compressed air supply source  140 . When it is determined that the difference in the voltage measured by the light receiving elements  123  is out of the allowable range, the controller  130  may guide the subject to place the nozzle module  110  at the target position with respect to the cornea  10  by notifying through an alarm or the like. 
     Meanwhile, the nozzle module  110  may include a nozzle body  112  and a nozzle tip  113 . 
     The nozzle body  112 , in which the sensor support block  121  is fixed to the central portion thereof, has an air supply port  114  formed in an outer circumference portion thereof, through which the compressed air is supplied from the compressed air supply source  140 . The nozzle body  112  may be formed in a shape having a body central part  112   a , a first enlarged diameter part  112   b , and a second enlarged diameter part  112   c.    
     The body central part  112   a  has the fitting groove in the center into which the block body  121   b  of the sensor support block  121  is fitted from the front. The body central part  112   a  may be formed in a hollow cylinder shape whose front end is opened. The body central part  112   a  may have the stepped portion formed along the bottom edge thereof around the fitting groove, such that the rear end of the block body  121   b  may be seated and supported by the stepped portion. The body central part  112   a  may have holes formed in a lower surface of the fitting groove thereof, from which respective lead wires of the light emitting element  122 , the light receiving elements  123 , and the pressure sensors  150  are drawn out. 
     The first enlarged diameter part  112   b  is formed with an outer diameter larger than that of the body central part  112   a  along the outer circumference of the body central part  112   a  closer to the rear end side of the body central part  112   a . The air supply port  114  may be formed by penetrating the outer circumference of the first enlarged diameter part  112   b  in the longitudinal direction. The air supply port  114  may be formed in a cut shape to a side surface of the first enlarged diameter part  112   b . Two air supply ports  114  may be provided symmetrically arranged with respect to the first enlarged diameter part  112   b . An air supply pipe  114   a  for connection with the compressed air supply source  140  may be mounted in the air supply port  114 . 
     The first enlarged diameter part  112   b  forms an air flow passage between a front end portion of the body central part  112   a  and an inner circumference of the nozzle tip  113 , such that the compressed air introduced from the air supply port  114  can be transferred to the air spray port  111  of the nozzle tip  113 . 
     The second enlarged diameter part  112   c  is formed with an outer diameter larger than that of the first enlarged diameter part  112   b  along the outer circumference of the body central part  112   a  farther from the rear end of the body central part  112   a  than the first enlarged diameter part  112   b . The second enlarged diameter part  112   c  has a stepped portion formed between the first enlarged diameter part  112   b  and the same, such that the rear end of the nozzle tip  113  may be seated and supported by the stepped portion. The stepped portion of the second enlarged diameter part  112   c  may be joined to the rear end of the nozzle tip  113  using an adhesive or the like. 
     The nozzle tip  113  has the air spray port  111  formed in the central portion to accommodate the sensor support block  121  together with the nozzle body  112 . Compressed air supplied through the air supply port  114  is transmitted between the nozzle body  112  and the same, and sprayed through the air spray port  111 . The nozzle tip  113  may be formed in a shape having a first tip part  113   a  and a second tip part  113   b . The first tip part  113   a  may have a hollow cylinder shape whose front and rear ends are opened, and the rear end thereof may be supported in contact with the stepped portion of the second enlarged diameter part  112   c . The second tip part  113   b  may be formed in a shape extending from the front end of the first tip part  113   a  having an outer diameter decreased toward the cornea  10 . That is, the second tip part  113   b  may be formed in a shape tapered toward the front end facing the cornea  10 . Since the second tip part  113   b  is formed to have the same taper angle as the taper angle of the block head  121   a , a predetermined interval may be formed between an inner surface of the second tip part  113   b  and an outer surface of the block head  121   a.    
     The second tip part  113   b  has the air spray port  111  formed at the front central portion thereof. The air spray port  111  may be formed in a circular shape. The air spray port  111  may have a diameter enough to expose the front end portion of the block head  121   a . The compressed air introduced into the nozzle body  112  may flow evenly to the air spray port  111  along the flow passage between the first tip part  113   a  and the block head  121   a , and then may be sprayed in a ring shape through the air spray port  111 . 
     Meanwhile, the non-contact portable tonometry system may include the pressure sensors  150 . The pressure sensors  150  are disposed in the nozzle module  110  to receive the compressed air which is sprayed from the nozzle module  110  and reflected by the cornea  10  to measure the pneumatic pressure. 
     When the compressed air is applied to the cornea  10 , the cornea  10  is deformed, and a distance between the cornea  10  and the pressure sensor  150  is changed, such that a difference in the pneumatic pressure detected by the pressure sensor  150  occurs due to a difference in the distance therebetween. The controller  130  may convert the pneumatic pressure measured by the pressure sensor  150  before and after the deformation of the cornea  10  into intraocular pressure using a correlation model indicating the correlation between the pneumatic pressure and the intraocular pressure. 
     The system may be provided with the pair of pressure sensors  150 . The pressure sensors  150  may be mounted in the sensor support block  121  by penetrating with being inclined toward the center based on the longitudinal direction while each sensing portion thereof is exposed to an outside through the center of the front end groove of the block head  121   a  between the light receiving elements  123 . The pressure sensors  150  may be symmetrically disposed about the light emitting element  122 . Accordingly, the pressure sensors  150  may receive the compressed air reflected by the cornea  10  as much as possible. Each of the pressure sensors  150  may be disposed at the same interval as that of the light receiving elements  123  arranged on both sides thereof. 
     As an example, as shown in  FIG. 7 , the pressure sensor  150  may be configured as a piezoresistive pressure sensor including a diaphragm  151  and a piezoresistor  152 . The diaphragm  151  is deformed by compressed air reflected by the cornea  10 . The piezoresistor  152  may measure the pressure of compressed air by converting the amount of deformation of the diaphragm  151  into an electrical resistance value. 
     The pressure sensor  150  may convert the measured pneumatic pressure into an electrical signal to provide it to the controller  130 . That is, the pressure sensor  150  may measure the amount of light before and after the deformation of the cornea  10 , and convert it into an electrical signal, followed by providing to the controller  130 . The controller  130  may convert the electrical signal provided from the pressure sensor  150  before and after the deformation of the cornea  10  into intraocular pressure. 
     The controller  130  may convert the pneumatic pressure measured by the pressure sensor  150  before and after the deformation of the cornea  10  into intraocular pressure in connection with the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor  120 . For example, the controller  130  may enhance the ability to discriminate the intraocular pressure by supplementing the intraocular pressure value in various ways such as a method of calculating an average value by averaging values obtained by converting the pneumatic pressure measured by the pressure sensor  150  into the intraocular pressure and values obtained by converting the light amount measured by the infrared ray sensor  120  into the intraocular pressure, or selecting the maximum value among the obtained values before and after the deformation of the cornea  10 . 
     A method for measuring intraocular pressure using a difference in infrared intensity according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. 
     First, compressed air is sprayed into the cornea of a subject through the air spray port to cause a corneal deformation. 
     Then, infrared rays are emitted to the cornea to measure an amount of light reflected from the cornea to the air spray port by the infrared ray sensor. In this case, the infrared rays are emitted to the cornea by the light emitting element, and the light reflected from the cornea is received by the light receiving elements disposed on both sides of the light emitting element to measure the amount of light. 
     Thereafter, the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor before and after the deformation of the cornea is converted into intraocular pressure by the controller. In a further embodiment, the compressed air reflected by the cornea may be received by the pressure sensor to measure the pneumatic pressure. In this case, the pneumatic pressure measured by the pressure sensor before and after the deformation of the cornea may be converted into intraocular pressure in connection with the amount of light measured by the infrared ray sensor. 
     Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, these are merely an example. It should be understood by persons having common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains that various modifications of the embodiments may be made. Accordingly, the real technical protection scope of the present invention is determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.