Patent ID: 8012136

Claim:
An ophthalmic fluid delivery device adapted to deliver an ophthalmic fluid in the form of a mist to an ocular region of a patient from a reservoir containing the ophthalmic fluid, the ophthalmic fluid delivery device comprising: a body defining a cavity sized to accommodate a reservoir; a reservoir connected to said body and disposed within said cavity, wherein said reservoir contains an ophthalmic fluid disposed therein; propulsion means for transmitting said ophthalmic fluid from said reservoir to a discharge plate, wherein transmission of said ophthalmic fluid across said discharge plate generating a plume of ophthalmic fluid along a direction directly toward said eye; a nozzle assembly coupled to said body proximate said cavity, said nozzle assembly being configured to deliver said plume directly along a direction directly toward said eye, wherein said plume of ophthalmic fluid travels, without being subject to a dynamic force generated by a mechanical device of said ophthalmic fluid delivery system that is physically separate from said propulsion means, from said discharge plate to said eye and at said eye has a momentum that has a magnitude that is insufficient to trigger at least one of an ocular blink reflex and a lacrimation reflex of said eye; and an aperture defined by said body adjacent said cavity defined by said body, said aperture being positioned to permit visualization of said reservoir from outside said body when said reservoir is positioned within said cavity of said body; wherein the body comprises a proximal end and a distal end; the discharge plate is disposed at the distal end; the discharge plate includes a plurality of openings extending therethrough; the aperture comprises a window; the window is substantially translucent or transparent; the ophthalmic fluid is discharged from the discharge plate at a velocity of between approximately 4 and 30 centimeters per second; the ophthalmic fluid is discharged from the discharge plate at a rate of between approximately 2 and 10 microliters per second; and the ophthalmic fluid discharged from the discharge plate has average particle sizes between approximately 0.5 and 10 microns in diameter.