Device and method for stimulating the meibomian glands of the eyelid

A method of massaging and vibrating eyelids of a patient to liquify accreted meibum within Meibomian glands and cleaning eyelid margins of the patient's eye of cellular and sebaceous debris, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) the patient attaching a removable head to an eyelid care appliance, said eyelid care appliance having a main body with a housing having a longitudinal axis, a control, an instrumentation package, a battery, a motor, and a drive system;
• (b) said removable head having a primary axis through the center of a removable head face, said removable head attaching to said main body such that the primary axis is inclined to the longitudinal axis by an angle of between 20 degrees and 90 degrees;
• (c) said removable head having a hollow cavity concentric with the primary axis through the center of the removable head face,
• (c1) said patient applies a topical agent to the hollow cavity;
• (d) said hollow cavity acts as a reservoir for said topical agent;
• (e) said drive system transmitting motive force from said motor to oscillate said removable head;
• (f) said patient accessing the eyelids with said removable head such that said topical agent is applied to said patient's eyelids;
• (g) said eyelid care appliance oscillating the removable head wherein said oscillation comprises repeating circular rotation up to a first angular amount in a first direction around the primary axis of the removable head, and circular rotation up to a second angular amount in a second opposite direction around the primary axis of the removable head such that the removable head does not make a full revolution;
• and
• (h) contacting said removable head face to said eyelids to massage said eyelids and clean said eyelid margins.

A method of massaging an eyelid and cleaning a margin of the eyelid and a meibomian gland orifice of a patient's eye of cellular and sebaceous debris, the method comprising the steps of:

• attaching a removable head to an eyelid care appliance, the eyelid care appliance having a main body with a housing having a longitudinal axis, a control, an instrumentation package, and a drive system, the removable head having a primary axis through a center of a removable head face and having a hollow cavity concentric with the primary axis through the center of the removable head face;
• pivoting the removable head in a frame with one or more detents to orient the removable head such that the primary axis is inclined at an angle ranging from about 20° to about 80° to the longitudinal axis of the housing;
• applying a topical agent to the hollow cavity of the removable head, the hollow cavity forming a reservoir to capture the topical agent during use;
• transmitting, via said drive system, a force to oscillate the removable head, the drive system comprising:
• a power supply;
• a motor electrically connected to the power supply;
• and
• a driveshaft having a first end connected to the motor and a second end connected to the removable head;
• applying, via the removable head, the topical agent to the eyelid and the meibomian gland orifice;
• oscillating the removable head wherein the oscillating
• repeats a first circular rotation up to a first angular amount in a first direction around the primary axis of the removable head and a second circular rotation up to a second angular amount in a second opposite direction around the primary axis of the removable head such that the removable head does not make a full revolution;
• massaging, via the removable head face, the eyelid;
• cleaning, via the removable head face, the margin of the eyelid and the meibomian gland orifice;
• and
• massaging, via the removable head face, along an entirety of a longitudinal axis of the meibomian gland orifice through the eyelid such that the reservoir captures the topical agent which would otherwise escape during the massaging of the eyelid and the cleaning of the margin of the eyelid.