Magic Leap Patent | Methods And Systems For Diagnosing Eye Conditions, Including Macular Degeneration

Patent: Methods And Systems For Diagnosing Eye Conditions, Including Macular Degeneration

Publication Number: 10545341

Publication Date: 20200128

Applicants: Magic Leap

Abstract

Configurations are disclosed for a health system to be used in various healthcare applications, e.g., for patient diagnostics, monitoring, and/or therapy. The health system may comprise a light generation module to transmit light or an image to a user, one or more sensors to detect a physiological parameter of the user’s body, including their eyes, and processing circuitry to analyze an input received in response to the presented images to determine one or more health conditions or defects.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to various methods and systems for diagnosing, monitoring, and treating health conditions and ailments, including ophthalmic as well as other conditions and ailments.

BACKGROUND

Ophthalmic instruments and techniques are routinely used by clinicians to diagnose and treat eye-related ailments. An example of a traditional ophthalmic device is shown in FIG. 1. As illustrated, the patient may be positioned in a specific, seated position for the entire duration of the procedure, which may last anywhere between a few seconds to a few minutes. This positioning has been considered necessary to properly align the patient’s eye with the ophthalmic device, to perform measurements and/or therapeutic procedures on the patient’s eyes.

Undesirably, ophthalmic devices tend to be large, bulky and expensive devices, and are typically used exclusively in doctor’s offices. Thus, patients may be required to make an appointment with an optometrist and visit the doctor for any diagnoses or treatment to take place. This can be a deterring factor for many patients, who may delay the trip to the doctor’s office for long periods of time, possibly until a condition has worsened. The worsened condition may require even more drastic therapies or procedures to address, when it could have been more easily alleviated had the patient been timely diagnosed or treated. Furthermore, the large and bulky nature of most ophthalmic devices forces patients to be placed in an uncomfortable position for a large amount of time, which in turn may actually increase risks of mis-diagnoses and patient error.

Accordingly, there is a need for health systems that address one or more of the difficulties above.