Techniques for quantitatively assessing tear-film dynamics

An imaging apparatus for tear film analysis of a contact lens worn on an eye, comprising:

• a corneal topographer configured to project an image of one or more predefined shapes onto a tear film surface of the contact lens worn on the eye;
• a digital camera configured to capture video data of the one or more predefined shapes projected onto the tear film surface of the contact lens over a period of time, wherein the video data comprises a plurality of image frames and each image frame of the plurality of image frames includes a reflection pattern of the one or more predefined shapes at a particular point in time at which that image frame is captured;
• and
• at least one processor, coupled with a memory, configured to cause the imaging apparatus to:
• perform image segmentation on the reflection pattern of each of the plurality of image frames to identify edges associated with the one or more predefined shapes;
• generate a plurality of maps of the tear film surface of the contact lens based on displacement of the identified edges associated with the one or more predefined shapes from at least a first image frame to a second image frame of the plurality of image frames, the plurality of maps indicating a distortion of at least a portion of the one or more predefined shapes corresponding to changes to the tear film surface of the contact lens during the period of time;
• and
• output, based on the plurality of maps, one or more metrics quantifying the changes to the tear film surface of the contact lens over the period of time.