Non-invasive ocular assessment method and associated apparatus

A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising

• administering a chemical substance to said subject,
• impinging light on a subject's eye,
• directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor,
• converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals,
• delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition,
• effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event,
• employing a toxin sensitive chemical substance as said chemical substance, and
• administering said toxin sensitive chemical substance by injection.

A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising

• administering a chemical substance to said subject,
• impinging light on a subject's eye,
• directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor,
• converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals,
• delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition,
• effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event,
• employing a toxin sensitive chemical substance as said chemical substance, and
• administering said toxin sensitive chemical substance topically to the surface of the eye or its surrounding tissues.

A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising

• administering a chemical substance to said subject,
• impinging light on a subject's eye,
• directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor,
• converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals,
• delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition,
• effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event,
• on the basis of said monitoring determining a likely toxic cause of said undesirable medical condition,
• employing a toxin-sensitive chemical substance as said chemical substance, and
• said toxin sensitive chemical substance responsive to the existence of a predetermined level of said toxin will effect a visually perceptible change in the eye so as to permit said determination to be made.

A method of monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising

• administering a chemical substance to said subject,
• impinging light on a subject's eye,
• directing reflected light from said impinging light beam to a photosensor,
• converting said reflected light into corresponding electrical signals,
• delivering said electrical signals to a processor which contains stored information regarding desired parameters for the particular medical condition,
• effecting a comparison between the photosensor delivered electrical signals and the stored information to determine if an undesirable medical condition exists and if such undesirable medical condition exists communicating such event, and
• employing fluorescein as said chemical substance.

Apparatus for monitoring a medical condition including a toxin in a subject comprising

• a light source for directing light onto at least one eye of said subject,
• sensor means for receiving reflected light from said eye and converting said light into corresponding electrical signals,
• a processor for receiving said electrical signals,
• said processor having stored information regarding desired parameters of said medical condition including a biomarker related to said toxin, and
• said processor having the capability of effecting a comparison of information obtained from said electric signals with said stored information and emitting a determination of said comparison as to whether said medical condition exists or not.

Apparatus for monitoring a medical condition in a subject comprising

• a light source for directing light onto at least one eye of said subject,
• sensor means for receiving reflected light from said eye and converting said light into corresponding electrical signals,
• a processor for receiving said electrical signals,
• said processor having stored information regarding desired parameters of said medical condition,
• said processor having the capability of effecting a comparison of information obtained from said electric signals with said stored information and emitting a determination of said comparison as to whether said medical condition exists or not, and
• said stored information including information regarding toxic thresholds of at least one material selected from the group consisting of heavy metals, neurotoxins, organophosphates, fertilizers and pesticides and changes in the eye created by exceeding one more of said thresholds.