Method of optical treatment
A method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye. The method includes the steps of producing a first image on a retina of the human eye and producing a second image to generate a defocus.
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The present invention relates to a method of optical treatment. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for treating progression of refractive disorders, such as myopia and hyperopia, in human eyes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe retina is the innermost layer of an eyeball and is the place where optical images created by the lens of the eye is focused. The information from the images are turned into nerve impulses, which are then sent to the brain via the optic nerve. If the retina does not coincide with the resultant focal point of the optical elements of the eye, defocus is generated. As used herein, the term “defocus” refers to the shift of the optical images to a point behind or in front of the retina. The human eye has a feedback mechanism that regulates the growth of the eye to achieve an optimal balance between the size/length of the eye and the focal length of the optical elements of the eye. This feedback mechanism is called emmetropization.
Myopia and hyperopia are common refractive disorders of human eyes. They are generally described as an imbalance between the focusing power of optical elements of the eye and the size/length of the eye. Focus of a myopic eye lies in front of the retina of the eye, while focus of a hyperopic eye lies behind the retina of the eye. It is generally accepted that these disorders are results of inaccurate axial growth during post-natal development of the eyes. In other words, myopia typically develops when the size/length of the eye grows to exceed the focal length of the optical elements of the eye, while hyperopia typically develops when the size/length of the eye grows to be shorter than the focal length of the optical elements of the eye.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The natural process of emmetropization is regulated by the equilibrium between the above opposite defocus. Incidences of refractive errors are secondary to the disruption of the equilibrium. For example, insufficient ambient myopic defocus may cause myopia. On the other hand, excessive ambient myopic defocus may cause hyperopia.
Existing optical aids and refractive surgeries, in the form of spectacles, contact lens, corneal implant or shape modification of cornea, are corrective approaches involving alteration of the gross focusing power of the eye to produce sharper retinal images. They do not eliminate or deal with the cause of the disorders, but are just prosthetic.
The existing optical treatments to retard the progression of myopia by relieving the eye's accommodation during near visual tasks are recently shown to be clinically ineffective. Examples of those treatments include bi-focal addition lenses, multi-focal progressive addition lenses and their derivatives, and spherical aberration manipulations.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is directed to a method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye. Particularly, the present invention provides methods for counteracting the development of myopia by enhancing myopic defocus. The present invention also provides methods for counteracting the development of hyperopia by enhancing hyperopic defocus. The apparatuses used in practice of the present invention alter the defocus equilibrium of the eye to influence axial eye growth in a direction towards emmetropia.
According to a general aspect of the present invention, the method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye includes producing a first image on a retina of the human eye and producing a second image to generate a defocus.
According to one aspect of the present invention, the method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye includes providing a Fresnel lens having primary optical zones and secondary optical zones. The primary optical zones include a primary refractive power, and secondary optical zone includes at least one secondary refractive power. The method also includes correcting the refractive disorder with the primary refractive power and generating at least one defocus with the secondary refractive power.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye includes prescribing an optical system having a back layer and a partially transparent front layer. The method also includes producing a primary image of one of the front and back layers on a retina of the human eye and producing a secondary image of the other layer of the front and back layers to generate a defocus.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye includes providing a lens including a central optical zone having a primary optical power and at least one peripheral optical zone having a secondary optical power. The method also includes producing a primary image on a retina of the human eye with the first optical power and producing at least one secondary image with the second optical power to generate a defocus.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, the method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye includes prescribing an optical system having a central visual object and at least one peripheral visual object. The method also includes producing a first image of the central visual object on a central retina of the human eye and producing a second image of the peripheral visual object to generate a defocus.
The present invention is directed to a method for treating progression of a refractive disorder in a human eye. Particularly, the present invention provides a method for counteracting the development of myopia by enhancing myopic defocus. The present invention also provides a method for counteracting the development of hyperopia by enhancing of hyperopic defocus. The apparatuses used in practice of the present invention alter the defocus equilibrium of the eye to influence axial eye growth in a direction towards emmetropia.
The artificial shift of the defocus equilibrium in the optical system of the eye may be introduced by any desired method, for example by spectacle lens, spectacle lens add-on, contact lens, corneal shape-modification, ocular implant or designated viewing system. It is preferred that the shift be introduced together with the conventional correction so that normal vision can be maintained throughout the treatment. This means that a focused image must be maintained near the macula 34, while one or more defocused images are being introduced into the optical system of the eye.
A treatment method in accordance with the present invention introduces at least a defocused image and a focused image in a superimposed manner. The defocused and focused images can be introduced simultaneously, for example, by a concentric Fresnel type bi-focal or multi-focal lens as shown in
Referring now
A Fresnel type of concentric multi-focal lens is a derivative of the Fresnel type concentric bi-focal lens. It has alternating concentric optic zones of more than two refractive powers. The primary refractive power corrects the refractive error, while the multiple secondary powers introduce optical defocus for treatment. This can be achieved by a minor variation on the radius of curvature of the secondary optical zones.
To improve the visual performance produced by the treatment methods and to avoid the user from mixing up his or her primary and secondary optical components, the optical quality of the retinal image produced by the primary components can be strengthened over the image produced by the secondary components. This can be achieved by manipulating the area ratio between the different zones of the Fresnel lenses and manipulating the transmission proportion of the semi-transparent layers.
An alternative method in accordance with the present invention introduces defocused image at peripheral retina only and keeps focused image at central retina. People habitually maintain a sharp image at central retina by a voluntary fixation reflex. Accordingly, the way to simultaneously present two images is the introduction of the defocus image at peripheral retina through the use of a central-peripheral multi-focal lens as shown in
As shown in
Although the present invention has particular applications in curing and preventing the progression of refractive disorders of the eye such as myopia and hyperopia, it is to be understood that the invention could be used in other applications such as the prevention of pathological myopic degeneration of the eye.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred methods, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, the invention is not to be taken as limited to all of the details thereof as modifications and variations thereof may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A method for retarding the progression of myopia or hyperopia in a human eye, the method comprising: wherein the primary optical zones enable near and distant objects to be viewed; and the secondary optical zones generate myopic defocus to retard myopia or generate hyperopic defocus to retard hyperopia.
- (a) providing a Fresnel concentric multi-focal lens comprising primary optical zones having a primary refractive power and secondary optical zones having at least one secondary refractive power; and
- (b) correcting the myopia or hyperopia with the primary refractive power and generating at least one defocus with the secondary refractive power,
2. The method of claim 1, wherein:
- the step (b) comprises focusing a first stream of light rays of an object onto a retina of the human eye through the primary optical zones to correct the myopia and focusing a second stream of light rays of the object in front of the retina through the secondary optical zones to generate at least one myopic defocus.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein:
- the step (b) comprises focusing a primary stream of light rays of an object onto a retina of the human eye through the first optical zones to correct the hyperopia and focusing a second stream of light rays of the object behind the retina through the secondary optical zones to generate at least one hyperopic defocus.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (a) comprises prescribing a Fresnel concentric bi-focal lens to produce a defocus in step (b).
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step (a) comprises providing a Fresnel concentric multi-focal lens producing two or more defocuses in step (b).
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the Fresnel concentric multi-focal lens is a concentric bi-focal lens.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the primary optical zones is configured for generating a focused image in a central optic zone, and wherein the secondary optical zones are configured for generating a defocused image in the central optic zone at a spaced distance from the focused image.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the lens is a contact lens.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Mar 22, 2011
Date of Patent: Dec 11, 2012
Assignee: The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong)
Inventors: Chi Ho To (Hong Kong), Siu Yin Lam (Tai Wai), Yan Yin Tse (Hong Kong)
Primary Examiner: Dawayne A Pinkney
Application Number: 13/053,289
International Classification: A61B 3/00 (20060101);