System for outer eyelid heat and pressure treatment for treating meibomian gland dysfunction

A system for treating meibomian gland dysfunction, comprising:

• a lid warmer, wherein the lid wanner is configured to apply heat to an outer surface of a patient's eyelid to a temperature level to melt, loosen, or soften an obstruction located within a meibomian gland channel of a meibomian gland;
• a force application device configured to be positioned on the outer surface of the patient's eyelid, wherein the force application device applies a regulated directional force to the meibomian gland channel in a direction from a bottom of the meibomian gland channel to a top of the meibomian gland channel;
• and
• a controller communicatively coupled to the lid warmer and the force application device,
• wherein the controller is further configured to:
• send a signal to the lid warmer to apply heat to the outer surface of the patient's eyelid to a temperature level to melt, loosen, or soften an obstruction located within a meibomian gland channel of a meibomian gland;
• control the force application device to generate the regulated directional force to express the obstruction located within the meibomian gland channel and from within the meibomian gland channel through a meibomian gland orifice of the meibomian gland;
• and
• maintain the signal to the lid warmer to maintain the heat to the outer surface of the patient's eyelid for a period of time.