APPLICATION
The present invention is a light sensitive patch for the treatment of amblyopia.
KEY BENEFITS
• Provides alert when child moves patch from therapeutic position
• Economical
• Effective
MARKET SUMMARY
Amblyopia, which is commonly called “lazy eye”, is a vision development disorder that affects 2-4% of the population. In children with untreated amblyopia, the brain relies more and more on the stronger eye, and the vision in the lazy eye worsens. A common therapeutic approach is to apply a patch to the stronger eye, thereby forcing the brain to use and strengthen the lazy eye. Amblyopia can be cured in approximately 95% of patients by patching the dominant eye for two hours per day until age eight. Unfortunately, children often achieve poor results with conventional patching because they have a tendency to remove the patch or adjust it so that they can peek around it with their strong eye.
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
The present invention is a conventional patch that incorporates a light sensor and an alarm. If the patch is removed or adjusted, an alarm is triggered to notify a parent or guardian. In this way, the compliance with the patching program is significantly improved and this helps achieve a higher likelihood of cure for amblyopia.
DEVELOPMENT STAGE
A prototype has been built and tested