JPH1085248A - Eye function improving warmer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the eye lid from having an excessively high temperature and improve the convenience by arranging an installing means for holding a cover having a plurality of near infrared light emitting diodes capable of raising the temperature of the lid and the eye which are arranged and held on the inside surface thereof in such a manner as to be capable of being set according to the position of the eye of a patient. SOLUTION: An eye function improving warmer 1 has covers 7 having a plurality of near infrared light emitting diodes 5 arranged in recessed parts 3, and lead wires 9 drawn therefrom and connected to a power source adapter through a socket 11. A hook-and-loop fastener 17 is stuck to the surface opposite to the recessed part 3 of the cover so as to be attachable to and detachable from a wearing belt 15 having a hook-and-loop fastener 17 in an optional position. The cover 7 is made of plastics, and, for example, 16 near infrared light emitting diodes 5 and three red light emitting diodes 6 are arranged in the recessed part 3. The covers 7 are mounted on the hook-and-loop fastener part 17 of the wearing belt according to the positions of the eyes of a patient, and the wearing belt 15 is wound on the head so as to put the covers 7 on the eyes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heater for improving eye functions for increasing the temperature of the eyelids and eyes to improve eye functions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the importance of visual information has been increasing due to the spread of display devices, and living in a low humidity environment has been established throughout the year due to completeness of air conditioning and heating. The number of people who feel eye disease and asthenopia due to such a change in living environment is increasing, and the demand for treatment for alleviating and preventing fatigue is increasing.

[0003] In particular, dry eye, in which the amount of tears is reduced and the eye surface cannot maintain a normal state, is remarkably increased, but as a treatment for the dry eye, clogging of the meibomian gland which produces oil on the surface of the eye is prevented. Heat treatment with steamed towels has been performed.

[0004] The meibomian glands are small glands around the eyelids, and the oil produced there covers the entire tear film formed on the surface of the eyes and serves to prevent evaporation of water.
Therefore, for example, if this gland is clogged, the oil layer of the tears becomes insufficient and the tears tend to evaporate, causing dry eyes. It is believed that only meibomian glands need to be warmed in order to promote meibomian gland secretion.

[0005] Conventional heat treatment using a steamed towel is as follows.
By warming the eyelids, heat is gradually transferred from the skin surface to the inside of the skin, dissolving solidified meibomian gland secretions and keeping the tear film normal .

[0006] Further, a thermotherapy device called an anthropological device has also been used in ophthalmology. This is a dryer type using a powerful infrared light bulb, and irradiates near infrared rays while covering each eye while holding it by hand at the time of use. Anpan was used for infarct lesions such as stye, but decreased due to the spread of antibiotic eye drops. It was also pointed out that the effect of raising the temperature of the bean paste was low and the effect was only psychological.

On the other hand, infrared heaters for living bodies such as shoulders and hips are still generally used at present, and the main types thereof are a bulb-type infrared heater, a low-power laser heater, and a light emitting diode. There are (LED) heaters. Conventionally used in ophthalmology is a bulb-type infrared treatment device.

[0008]

However, the heat treatment using the steamed towel requires a long time before the heat is transmitted to the meibomian gland located 3 to 4 mm inside from the surface of the skin, and the heat to the outside is also required. The divergence was large and the temperature rise was unstable and inefficient.

With an infrared heater conventionally used, light reaches only about 2 to 3 mm from the skin surface, and it is considered that heat gradually penetrates into the skin by heat conduction. For this reason, there is a problem that it takes time, the efficiency is low, and the surface of the eyelid becomes too high in temperature.

[0010] In addition, the conventional products called so-called hot pots have to be large and must be held by hand, so that they cannot be used easily.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a safe and easy-to-use ophthalmic function-improving heater in which the eyelids do not become too hot, and the time and temperature are efficient and safe.

[0012]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, an ophthalmic function improving heater according to the present invention has a plurality of near-infrared light emitting diodes capable of increasing the temperature of the eyelid and the eye on an inner surface thereof. A cover is provided, and mounting means for holding the cover so as to be settable in accordance with the position of the patient's eyes. This makes it possible to efficiently perform thermal treatment using near-infrared rays in the eyes, safely improve the eye function, and provide a convenient thermotherapy device for improving the eye function.

Further, the cover may be divided into two parts, and the mounting means may hold the distance between the covers so as to be changeable in accordance with the position of the patient's eyes. According to this, the position of the eyes of each patient and the near-infrared ray can always be used in correspondence with each other, which is efficient.

[0014] Further, the cover may have a hook for hooking the spectacles, and the mounting means may be a frame of the spectacles.
Thus, the eye function improving heater can be used while wearing glasses, and can be easily adjusted to the eye position.

Further, the cover may have a hole at a portion corresponding to the eye, and the near-infrared light emitting diodes may be arranged and held around the periphery of the hole. According to this, it can be used with the eyes open.

The peak wavelength is 850 nm to 950.
The use of a near-infrared light emitting diode of 3 nm enables efficient heating of tissues related to the function of the surface of the eye at a depth of 3 to 4 mm from the skin surface. Near-infrared LEDs have lower light energy than laser light, but have sufficient penetrating power to the skin by irradiating light of a specific wavelength, and the danger to the living body is small because the energy is small. It is also known that the use of near-infrared rays as the specific wavelength results in a deeper light reaching the living body than in the case of using conventional far-infrared wavelengths, and is effective as a heater. This is because near-infrared light has higher light transmission to the living body than other infrared light regions.

For example, when a peak wavelength of 940 nm is used, the depth of light reaching the skin is said to be about 6 mm, and if heat further penetrates therefrom, it is thought that the skin is heated to about 20 mm. .

For this reason, in the LED treatment device, heat penetrates deep into the living body in a short time, and only the surface of the skin is not excessively heated unlike conventional infrared rays, and the power consumption is small. It can be said that it can be used safely at home because it is completed.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments and examples will be described below with reference to examples of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a conceptual diagram of an ophthalmic function improving heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The ophthalmic function improving heater 1 has two covers 7 in which a plurality of near-infrared light emitting diodes 5 are disposed in the recess 3.
Then, the lead wires 9 are respectively drawn out from the cover and connected to a power supply adapter (not shown) via the socket 11. A magic tape 13 (see FIG. 2) is adhered to the surface of the cover opposite to the concave portion 3, and is detachably attached to a mounting belt 15 provided with the magic tape and an arbitrary position. Here, the cover 7 is made of plastic of about 7 × 5 cm, and as shown in the sectional view of FIG. 2, the recess 3 has 16 near infrared light emitting diodes 5 and 3 red light emitting diodes. 6 are provided. The cover 7 can be made of, for example, a rubber material or the like other than plastic, but a non-heat-transferable and lightweight material is suitable. The temperature of the infrared light emitting diode 5 changes according to the number per unit area, and the more the number, the more the energy is increased and the thermal effect can be enhanced. It is necessary to be a number.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a cover of the ophthalmic function improving heater according to the embodiment shown in FIG.

As described above, a total of 19 near-infrared light emitting diodes 5 and red light emitting diodes 6 are provided on the base 19 inside the cover 7, and the lead wire 9 is led out from one end of the cover 7. Have been. Of the wavelengths in the near-infrared region of about 760 nm to 2500 nm, wavelengths particularly easy to transmit through the skin are 800 nm to 1200 nm.
Therefore, it is effective to use near infrared rays having a peak wavelength of 850 nm to 950 nm as the eye function improving heater 1. In the embodiment, 16 near-infrared light emitting diodes having a peak wavelength of 940 nm (hereinafter, referred to as 940 nm) and three red light emitting diodes having a peak wavelength of 660 nm (hereinafter, referred to as 660 nm) are used. Since the near infrared ray of 940 nm is colorless,
By using three 0 nm red light emitting diodes, it is possible to easily determine whether the power is on or off. In this case, the red light-emitting diodes 6 may be used within a range in which the patient does not feel dazzling during use and does not impair the effect of the near-infrared ray. For example, one red light-emitting diode 6 may be used for the cover 7. If the red light emitting diode 6 is provided only outside the cover 7, the patient will not feel dazzling during use.

When using the eye function improving heater 1,
The cover 7 is attached to the magic tape portion 17 of the wearing belt in accordance with the position of the patient's eyes, and the wearing belt 15 is wound around the head while using the covering with the eyes.
Since the mounting belt 15 has a magic tape part 17 on a part or the whole surface and is made of a stretchable material, the tightening strength is adjusted according to preference and mounted. Also, the wearing belt 15 can be an eye mask type,
In this case, a magic tape portion 17 is provided to attach the cover 7 to the inner surface of the eye mask. After the eye function improving heater 1 is attached, it is effective to plug the power adapter into a household power source and use it for about 5 to 15 minutes. At this time, the power is turned on / off by the socket 11
Alternatively, if a switch is provided near the socket, it can be operated easily at hand. If a switch is provided on each of the covers 7, only one of them can be turned off halfway if necessary. Furthermore, a timer can be attached to a part of the ophthalmic function improving heater 1. In this case, if the time is set in advance and the timer is turned on at the time of use, the switch is automatically turned off at the end of use. Irradiation beyond necessity can be prevented. By providing a buzzer or the like for notifying the end time, the user can easily know the completion of use.

Since the cover 7 is fixed to the head with the wearing belt, it is not necessary to support it with a hand or the like, and the cover 7 can be used in a posture while sitting on a chair or the like. Of course, it is possible to move within the range of the lead wire 9. At the time of use, the temperature of the irradiating skin slightly rises, but there is no worry about low-temperature burns due to near-infrared rays and it is safe.

When the above-mentioned eye function improving heater is used, light is transmitted to a depth of about 6 mm from the skin surface to perform heating. Therefore, since the skin surface is warmed only by its heat conduction, it is safe because, for example, even if it is used for a longer time than the normal effect is recognized, it does not become hot enough to cause danger such as burns. Further, even after the heater for improving the ocular function is removed, the heat in the deep part is gradually decreased compared to the conventional heating from the skin surface, and the heating effect is maintained.

For example, when heating the meibomian glands in dry eye treatment, it is considered effective to heat the skin up to a depth of about 10 mm from the skin. Therefore, if a wavelength in the near infrared region is used, thermal treatment suitable for heating the meibomian glands can be performed. In addition, even in the treatment of dry eye, it can improve blood flow not only in the meibomian glands but also in the vicinity of the meibomian glands and around the eyes, so that eye functions are improved, so that eyes are refreshed and eyestrain is relieved. .

Further, since the power supply for the ophthalmic function-improving heater according to the present invention can be reduced as compared with the infrared light bulb, the power supply can be portable as a battery.

It can be said that irradiation on the eyelid for about 5 to 15 minutes by the eye function improving heater 1 using an infrared light emitting diode has no effect on eye safety.

For example, when the center of the wavelength is 950 nm,
When approximately 2.3 light emitting diodes / cm ² emitting 93% or more of infrared rays in the region of 50 ± 50 nm are used, the amount of near-infrared radiation energy per unit area is the same wavelength that the skin receives from the sun from the ground on the ground. The amount of energy is 2 to 4 times the radiation energy of the region. However, given that 5 minutes of irradiation is equivalent to 10 to 20 minutes of sunbathing, it is not unusual to be exposed to sunlight for more than an hour a day with the eyelids open even in daily life Has no effect on eye safety. Further, in the entire amount of near-infrared energy that easily penetrates the skin, the radiant energy of the eye function improving heater using the light emitting diode is the same as that of the sun when compared with the sun. (Here, the case of 800 to 1200 nm is shown.) This corresponds to almost the same amount to half of the energy amount.

The clinical results when the above-described first embodiment of the present invention using the ophthalmic function improving heater is shown.

Dry eye patient 2 with meibomian gland disorder
Two people used the ophthalmic function improving heater of the present invention twice in the morning and evening for 5 minutes a day, and observed improvement in subjective symptoms and objective findings.

The subjective symptoms before use were 7.5 ± 1.
8 significantly decreased to 4.8 ± 2.8 after 2 weeks of use. The score refers to a sensory numerical value determined based on a subjective symptom of the user with 9 points being the worst value and 1 being the best value.

In addition, tear film breakage time (BUT) before use
Was 4.1 ± 2.5 seconds, but 2 weeks after use.
It improved to 4 ± 4.9 seconds.

The tear film break-up time (BUT) is a time representing how long the tears covering the surface of the eyes start to dry. This involves instilling the patient with fluorescein dye,
Have them look straight ahead with their eyes open. Then, the surface of the eye gradually dries, and a portion where the fluorescein disappears in a stripe pattern is observed. The time from the disappearance of fluorescein to the appearance of a dry spot is called tear film breakage time (BUT).

The number of blinks measured at the same time was 28.5 ± 11.9 / min before use, but 22.4 ± 1.
It decreased to 1.2 times / min, confirming the therapeutic effect.

Table 1 shows a table of the measurement results obtained when the conventionally used steamer and steamed towel and the heater for improving ocular function according to the present invention were used for the same time.

[0038]

[Table 1] From Table 1, it can be seen that the ophthalmic function improving heater of the present invention can safely raise the temperature and maintain the heating effect longer than before, as compared with the two conventional heaters. Also, light compression during use is effective in draining the clogged oil in the meibomian glands.

The eye function improving heater of the present invention may have a structure having holes at positions corresponding to the eyes as in the second embodiment shown in FIG. The heater for improving ocular function shown here has a shape in which a hole 27 is opened at a position corresponding to the eye, and a plurality of near-infrared light emitting diodes 5 are arranged on a ring-shaped cover 7 corresponding to the periphery of the eye. The cover 7 is provided with hooks 23 at two locations at the end thereof. At the time of use, the hook 23 is hooked on the frame of the eyeglasses, and is fitted to the position of the eyes. At this time,
Since the cover 7 is ring-shaped and has a hole 27 in the center, if the eyes are opened, the outside world can be seen through the holes 27 and the lenses of the spectacles, and the user can use the cover 7 while performing other operations while keeping the eyes open.

[0040]

Since the ophthalmic function-improving heater of the present invention has the above-described structure, it can be easily heated directly from the inside of the eye using near-infrared rays to effectively and effectively perform thermal treatment. Because it can be performed safely, it can be used not only at hospitals but also at home.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of an ophthalmic function improving heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a cover of the ophthalmic function improving heater according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a heater for improving ocular function according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
(B) shows a front view of the cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Heater for improving eye function, 3 recess, 5 near-infrared light emitting diode, 6 red light emitting diode, 7 covering, 9
Lead wire, 11 socket, 13 Velcro, 1
5 Wearing belt, 17 Velcro, 19 base, 21 glasses, 23 hooks, 25 frames, 27 holes.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A cover having a plurality of arrays of near-infrared light emitting diodes capable of increasing the temperature of the eyelid and the eyes on an inner surface thereof, and a mounting means for holding the cover so as to be settable in accordance with the position of the patient's eyes. Heater for improving eye function. 2. The eye according to claim 1, wherein said cover is divided into two parts, and said mounting means holds the distance between said covers so as to be changeable in accordance with the position of the patient's eye. Heater for function improvement. 3. The ophthalmic function improving heater according to claim 1, wherein the cover has a hook for a pair of eyeglasses, and the mounting means is a frame of the eyeglasses. 4. The ophthalmic function according to claim 1, wherein the cover has a hole in a portion corresponding to the eye, and near infrared light emitting diodes are arranged and held around the periphery of the hole. Heater for improvement. 5. A peak wavelength of 850 nm to 950 nm.
The ophthalmic function improving heater according to claim 1, wherein the near infrared light emitting diode is used.