Therapeutic eye treatment with gases
AssigneeBalance Ophthalmics, Inc.
InventorsJohn Berdahl, George Tsai
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An apparatus to maintain an environment over an anterior surface of a patient eye can include an enclosure sized and shaped to be seated about the patient eye to form a cavity within the enclosure. The enclosure can be configured to contain a fluid other than ambient air in contact with the patient eye. The apparatus can include a fluid regulator in communication with the enclosure, where the fluid regulator can be configured to regulate the composition of the fluid contained within the enclosure.
Claims19
An apparatus to adjust a fluid humidity level of a fluid in a cavity over an anterior surface of a patient eye, the apparatus comprising:
- an enclosure, sized and shaped to form the cavity over the anterior surface of the patient eye, the enclosure including an inlet to receive the fluid and an outlet to return the fluid for recirculation, the cavity configured to contain the fluid for contact with the patient eye;
- a pressure source, in communication with the enclosure, configured to transfer the fluid to the inlet and receive the fluid from the outlet;
- and
- a dehumidifier, in communication with the cavity, configured to adjust the fluid humidity level of the fluid in the cavity.
A method to use an apparatus to adjust a fluid humidity level of a fluid in a cavity over an anterior surface of a patient eye, the apparatus including an enclosure, sized and shaped to form the cavity, the enclosure including an inlet to receive the fluid and an outlet to return the fluid for recirculation, the cavity configured to contain the fluid for contact with the patient eye, a pressure source in communication with the enclosure, configured to transfer the fluid to the inlet and receive the fluid from the outlet, and a dehumidifier in communication with the fluid, configured to adjust the fluid humidity level of the fluid in the cavity, the method comprising:
- adjusting the fluid humidity level of the fluid to be delivered to the cavity using the dehumidifier;
- delivering the humidity-adjusted fluid to the cavity via an inlet of the enclosure;
- and
- returning the humidity-adjusted fluid from the cavity via the outlet of the enclosure for recirculation using the pressure source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.