Apparatus for optometric self-examination, management server and contact lens selection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9215974-B2
Application number	US-201414311073-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 20, 2014
Priority date	Dec 20, 2011
Publication date	Dec 22, 2015
Grant date	Dec 22, 2015

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for optometric self-examination, a management server and a contact lens selection system using the same that are readily available to a new user and additionally shorten a time period required by an eye care practitioner for prescription or, even if no eye care practitioner's prescription is provided, allow for selection of a contact lens preferred for the user. The apparatus for optometric self-examination includes an optometric data acquisition unit for determining at least a part of a shape of a cornea of a user in response to an operation by the user and acquiring optometric data, based on the shape of the cornea, and a contact lens data display unit for displaying a result of selection of a contact lens suited for the optometric data, based on the optometric data and the shape data of contact lenses.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An apparatus for optometric self-examination, comprising:
a database to store shape data of a plurality of contact lenses;
an optometric data acquisition unit for determining at least a part of a shape of a cornea of a user in response to an operation by the user and acquiring optometric data, based on the shape of the cornea;
a contact lens selection unit for selecting one or a plurality of contact lenses suited for the optometric data, based on the optometric data and the shape data of contact lenses stored in the database; and
a contact lens data display unit for displaying a result of selection of a contact lens selected by the contact lens selection unit,
wherein the optometric data acquisition unit acquires curvature data at a plurality of points on a surface of the cornea of the user the optometric data, and
the contact lens selection unit calculates an average value from a maximum value and a minimum value among the curvature data at the plurality of points acquired as the optometric data and selects the one or a plurality of contact lenses based on the average value.

2. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 1 , wherein the contact lens selection unit selects the one or a plurality of contact lenses after making a correction based on a value obtained by subtracting the minimum value from the maximum value among the curvature data at the plurality of points acquired as the optometric data.

3. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 1 , wherein
the optometric data acquisition unit acquires eye refractive index data of the user, and
the contact lens selection unit determines a dioptric power of the contact lenses based on the eye refractive index data.

4. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 3 , wherein the contact lens selection unit calculates spatial data of a space formed between a surface of the cornea of the user and the back face of the contact lens, based on the optometric data and the shape data of contact lenses, thereafter acquires data of a lacrimal fluid layer formed between the surface of the cornea of the user and the back face of the contact lens, based on the spatial data, and determines the dioptric power of the contact lens in light of a shape of the lacrimal fluid layer.

5. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 4 , wherein the contact lens data display unit displays a fluorescein pattern representing the shape of the lacrimal fluid layer.

6. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 4 , wherein
the contact lens selection unit calculates a refraction value in a state of the contact lens being applied to the eye (over-refraction value) based on the optometric data, the spatial data and shape data of the contact lens selected, and
the contact lens data display unit displays the over-refraction value.

7. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 6 , wherein
the contact lens selection unit simulates visual performances in use of the contact lens based on the over-refraction value, and
the contact lens data display unit displays a result of simulation of the visual performances.

8. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 1 , wherein
the optometric data acquisition unit acquires data of a transverse corneal diameter of the user, and
the contact lens selection unit determines a diameter of the contact lens based on the data of the transverse corneal diameter.

9. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an affiliated facility display unit for displaying data of a plurality of affiliated facilities capable of prescribing a contact lens; and
a prescription requesting unit for allowing the user to select any affiliated facility from among the affiliated facilities displayed by the affiliated facility display unit and to request for a prescription with the affiliated facility in response to an operation by the user.

10. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 9 , wherein
the apparatus for optometric self-examination further comprises a prescription data recording unit for recording a correlation between the data of the contact lenses selected by the contact lens selection unit and data of the prescription executed by the affiliated facility that received a request from the prescription requesting unit, and
the contact lens selection unit selects the one or a plurality of contact lenses after making a correction based on the data recorded by the prescription data recording unit.

11. The apparatus for optometric self-examination according to claim 10 , wherein
the prescription data recording unit records the data of the contact lenses selected by the contact lens selection unit and the data of the prescription executed by the affiliated facility, in relationship to user identification data, and
the contact lens selection unit makes a correction with respect to each user based on the data recorded by the prescription data recording unit.

12. An apparatus for optometric self-examination comprising:
a database to store shape data of a plurality of contact lenses;
an optometric data acquisition unit for determining at least a part of a shape of a cornea of a user in response to an operation by the user and acquiring optometric data, based on the shape of the cornea;
a contact lens selection unit for selecting one or a plurality of contact lenses suited for the optometric data, based on the optometric data and the shape data of contact lenses stored in the database; and
a contact lens data display unit for displaying a result of selection of a contact lens selected by the contact lens selection unit,
wherein the optometric data acquisition unit acquires corneal shape data of the cornea of the user as the optometric data, and
the contact lens selection unit calculates a distance from a cornea surface to a back face of the contact lens along a normal direction, based on the corneal shape data and the shape data of contact lenses, and selects the one or a plurality of contact lenses based on the distance along the normal direction.

13. A management server capable of communicating with an apparatus for optometric self-examination via a network,
the apparatus for optometric self-examination comprising:
an optometric data acquisition unit for determining at least a part of a shape of a cornea of a user in response to an operation by the user and acquiring optometric data, based on the shape of the cornea;
an optometric data transmission unit for transmitting via a network the optometric data acquired by the optometric data acquisition unit relationship to user identification data; and
a contact lens data display unit for displaying a result of selection of a contact lens suited for the optometric data, based on the optometric data and shape data of contact lenses, and
the management server comprising:
a database to store shape data of a plurality of contact lenses;
an optometric data reception unit for receiving the optometric data and user identification data transmitted from the apparatus for optometric self-examination;
a contact lens selection unit for selecting one or a plurality of contact lenses suited for the optometric data, based on the optometric data and the shape data of contact lenses stored in the database; and
a first contact lens data transmission unit for transmitting data of the contact lenses selected by the contact lens selection unit to the apparatus for optometric self-examination,
wherein the optometric data recep

Assignees

• Menicon Co Ltd

Inventors

• Tanaka Hidenari
• Okawa Masahiro
• Muraki Kensuke

Classifications

• A61B3/18

  Arrangement of plural eye-testing or -examining apparatus · CPC title

• A61B3/0025 Primary

  characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models · CPC title

• A61B3/107

  for determining the shape or measuring the curvature of the cornea · CPC title