Patent ID: 8632578

Claim:
A system for treating meibomian gland dysfunction, comprising: a lid warmer containing a heating element, wherein the lid warmer is configured to be applied to tissue proximate a patient's meibomian gland to a temperature level to melt, loosen, or soften an obstruction located within a meibomian gland channel of a meibomian gland; a force application device configured to be positioned on the tissue, wherein the force application device applies a regulated directional force to the meibomian gland channel in a direction from a bottom of the meibomian gland channel to a top of the meibomian gland channel; and a controller communicatively coupled to the lid warmer and the force application device, wherein the controller is further configured to: send a signal to the lid warmer to apply heat to the tissue to a temperature level to melt, loosen, or soften an obstruction located within the meibomian gland channel of a meibomian gland; control the force application device to generate the regulated directional force on the tissue to reduce blood flow in an area of the tissue to reduce thermal dissipation in the tissue and to express the obstruction located within the meibomian gland channel and from within the meibomian gland channel through a meibomian gland orifice of the meibomian gland; and maintain the signal to the lid warmer to maintain the heat on the tissue for a period of time.