Eye examination kiosk system and method for remote eye examination

Abstract

The eye examination kiosk and method may comprise a structure for rotating and/or translating ophthalmologic examination devices such as an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), or a non-contact tonometer into a position such that they may be used for examination of a patient. The kiosk outer shell may comprise an opening allowing the ophthalmologic examination equipment to perform eye examinations of a patient. Eye examination results are transmitted to a remote location where they are read by a physician, who transmits examination findings and recommendations for follow up treatment to the patient. The results may include the identity of qualified physicians who practice geographically near the patient, or who are qualified to treat a patient for a specific condition indication.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An eye examination kiosk, comprising:
 a rotable table rotable about an axis;   at least one eye examination device, wherein said at least one eye examination device is defined by a predefined plane of examination, and is mounted to a surface of said rotable table;   a patient head locating structure for positioning the head of a patient at a kiosk plane of examination;   wherein said rotable table is supported by a supporting structure, said rotable table rotable on said supporting structure such that said at least one eye examination device can be rotated into a position such that said predefined plane of examination is coincident with said kiosk plane of examination;   and wherein said at least one eye examination device produces eye examination results to a controller, and wherein said controller is in communication with a remote storage server computer via a data network for transmitting said eye examination results to said remote storage server computer.   
     
     
         2 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is further defined as being selected from the group consisting of an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer, and a non-contact tonometer. 
     
     
         3 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 2 , wherein said autorefactor and said autokeratometer are housed with a single housing. 
     
     
         4 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a kiosk outer shell enclosing said rotable table and said at least one eye examination device, wherein said kiosk outer shell comprises an opening with said patient head locating structure passing there through, said opening allowing said patient's head to be disposed at said kiosk plane of examination without physical interference between said patient's head and said kiosk outer shell. 
     
     
         5 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 2 , further comprising a kiosk outer shell enclosing said rotable table and said at least one eye examination device, wherein said kiosk outer shell comprises an opening with said patient head locating structure passing there through, said opening allowing said patient's head to be disposed at said kiosk plane of examination without physical interference between said patient's head and said kiosk outer shell. 
     
     
         6 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 3 , further comprising a kiosk outer shell enclosing said rotable table and said at least one eye examination device, wherein said kiosk outer shell comprises an opening with said patient head locating structure passing there through, said opening allowing said patient's head to be disposed at said kiosk plane of examination without physical interference between said patient's head and said kiosk outer shell. 
     
     
         7 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 1 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is translatable on said rotable table such that the predefined plane of examination is translated along said kiosk plane of examination. 
     
     
         8 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 2 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is translatable on said rotable table such that the predefined plane of examination is translated along said kiosk plane of examination. 
     
     
         9 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 3 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is translatable on said rotable table such that the predefined plane of examination is translated along said kiosk plane of examination. 
     
     
         10 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 4 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is translatable on said rotable table such that the predefined plane of examination is translated along said kiosk plane of examination. 
     
     
         11 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 5 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is translatable on said rotable table such that the predefined plane of examination is translated along said kiosk plane of examination. 
     
     
         12 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 6 , wherein said at least one eye examination device is translatable on said rotable table such that the predefined plane of examination is translated along said kiosk plane of examination. 
     
     
         13 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 1 , further comprising a point of sale system in communication with said controller. 
     
     
         14 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 2 , further comprising a point of sale system in communication with said controller. 
     
     
         15 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 3 , further comprising a point of sale system in communication with said controller. 
     
     
         16 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 4 , further comprising a point of sale system in communication with said controller. 
     
     
         17 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 5 , further comprising a point of sale system in communication with said controller. 
     
     
         18 . The eye examination kiosk of  claim 6 , further comprising a point of sale system in communication with said controller. 
     
     
         19 . A method for eye examination, comprising the steps of:
 a. providing an eye examination kiosk comprising:
 a plurality of eye examination devices mounted onto a rotable table, each eye examination device of said plurality of eye examination devices having a predefined plane of examination, said rotable table attached to a rotating surface of a rotary table, said rotary table in communication with a controller, said controller in communication with non-transitory physical computer readable media containing computer readable instructions for rotating said rotary table to a desired angular position; and 
 a patient head locating structure; 
   b. placing a patient's head in said patient head locating structure such that an eye of said patient is located at a kiosk plane of examination;   c. commanding said rotary table to rotate into a first desired position such that the predefined plane of examination of a first eye examination device of said plurality of said eye examination devices is disposed so as to be coplanar with said kiosk plane of examination, allowing a first examination of said patient's eye;   d. conducting said first eye examination of said patient's eye using said first eye examination device, thereby producing a first eye examination result;   e. commanding said rotary table to rotate into a second desired position such that the plane of examination of a second eye examination device of said plurality of said eye examination devices is disposed so as to be coplanar with said kiosk plane of examination, allowing a second examination of said patient's eye;   f. conducting said second eye examination of said patient's eye using said second examination device, thereby producing a second eye examination result;   g. repeating steps e.-f. until said patient's eye has undergone examination by each of said plurality of eye examination devices, thus producing a plurality of eye examination results, one result for each examination;   h. storing each of said plurality of examination results; and   i. transmitting said plurality of eye examination results to a remote computer for retrieval and review by a physician.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising the steps of:
 j. retrieval of said plurality of eye examination results by said physician;   k. review of said plurality eye examination results by said physician;   l. generation of an eye examination report by said physician; and   m. transmitting said eye examination report to said patient.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the step of generation of said eye examination report by said physician is further defined as including the step of generating recommendations for follow up treatment or diagnostic testing of said patient. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 20 , further comprising the step of transmitting said eye examination report to a person designated by said patient. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 21 , further comprising the step of transmitting said eye examination report to a person designated by said patient. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 19 , in which each of the eye examination devices of said plurality of eye examination devices is selected from the selected from the group consisting of an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), and a non-contact tonometer. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , in which each of the eye examination devices of said plurality of eye examination devices is selected from the group consisting of an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), and a non-contact tonometer. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 21 , in which each of the eye examination devices of said plurality of eye examination devices is selected from the group consisting of an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), and a non-contact tonometer. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , in which each of the eye examination devices of said plurality of eye examination devices is selected from the group consisting of an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), and a non-contact tonometer. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 23 , in which each of the eye examination devices of said plurality of eye examination devices is selected from the group consisting of an auto-refractor, an auto-keratometer, a corneal topographer, a fundus camera, an external photo camera, a perimeter, a lensmeter, a specular microscope, a retinal and external eye imager, an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), and a non-contact tonometer.