Methods and apparatus to manage meibomian gland deficiencies

A wearable device for managing meibomian gland dysfunction of a wearer, the device configured to be worn in juxtaposition with the eyelids of the wearer, the device comprising:

• a pair of material portions for left and right eyes of the wearer, each material portion configured to contact an upper and lower portion of eyelids of the left and right eyes of the wearer;
• wherein each material portion comprises one or more of:
• carbon nanotube, graphene plate or sheet, natural, spider or artificial silk, cotton, denim, a metal, metal nanowires or an alloy, or an elastic formed of a polymer or copolymer of a polyamide, a polyester, a polyolefin, and mixtures thereof;
• at least one thermal energy delivery assembly configured to deliver thermal energy within each material portion to provide heating to the contacted eyelid at a temperature sufficient to liquefy meibum and facilitate meibomian gland expression;
• at least one vibration arrangement within each material portion configured to deliver mechanical energy to impart massaging motion onto the eyelid to further facilitate meibum outflow, the vibration arrangement comprising at least one micromotor or piezo-activator;
• a closed-loop feedback arrangement or an active control mechanism that is configured to finetune applied thermal energy exerted by the device on the wearer's eyelid;
• a microcomputer in communication with the thermal energy delivery assembly and the vibration arrangement, the microcomputer with a data processing module being programmed to:
• receive user data including target temperature and vibration settings;
• and
• finetune operation of the thermal energy delivery assembly to maintain a desired eyelid temperature range;
• wherein the device is configured to be operated repeatedly by a wearer at home without eye care professional assistance;
• and
• wherein the device is configured to take into consideration wearer-specific information of the eyelids, face, or ocular orbit.