Apparatus and method for treatment of dry eyes

Abstract

A disposable/removable tip attachable on a distal end of a fiber bundle, allowing transmitting light energy from the fiber bundle to an eyelid and comprising a contact surface made of bio-compatible material, which allows to contact the eyelid and in addition an add-on device, comprising a fiber bundle, having a distal and proximal end, wherein a disposable/removable tip is attachable to the distal end, while the proximal end is connected to an optical coupler, designed for optical and/or energy coupling with a lightguide of a Meibomian gland expression (MGX) treatment device.

1 - 10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . A system for treating ocular tissue of a patient comprising:
 an energy source to provide energy to treat the ocular tissue;   an elongated member having a distal end and a proximal end, the proximal end comprising a coupler, the coupler being configured to be coupled to the energy source, the distal end of the elongated member being configured to contact the ocular tissue, and wherein the elongated member is configured to transmit energy from the energy source to the proximal end and through the elongated member to the distal end of the elongated member.   
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 11  wherein the energy source is selected from one or more of: laser, LED, radio frequency and ultrasound. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the elongated member comprises an optical fiber. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the energy source is an intense pulsed light source (IPL) source in a handpiece having an opening that is configured to receive the coupler on the proximal end of the optical fiber. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the coupler on the proximal end of the optical fiber comprises an optical coupler interface. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 11 , wherein the delivered energy is in the form of an intense pulsed light (IPL) source. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein one of the coupler on the proximal end of the optical fiber or the energy source further comprises one or more of a wavelength filter and/or an energy damper configured to selectively deliver energy to the ocular tissue at a selected wavelength and/or to attenuate the energy level delivered. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the system is configured for performing Meibomian gland expression (MGX) on a patient's ocular tissue. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the distal end of the optical fiber further comprises a soft tip that is configured to contact the ocular tissue. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the distal end of the optical fiber further comprises a pen-like shaped adapter configured to be held by an operator performing MGX. 
     
     
         21 . The system of  claim 20 , further comprising an operating button configured to activate the source of energy. 
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the distal end of the optical fiber further comprises a handle configured to be grasped by an operator performing MGX. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 14 , further comprising an L-shaped tip mounted on the distal end of the optical fiber, the L-shaped tip being configured to be inserted behind an eyelid of a patient to protect the eye while an eyelid is being treated with the IPL energy source. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the optical fiber is comprised of a bundle of fibers having a diameter of 5 mm. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein optical fiber is a doped fiber that acts as a low-pass filter. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 23 , further comprising a shield configured to be placed on a patient's eye to protect the eye during treatment by the IPL energy source. 
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 26 , wherein the shield is one of: tinted or opaque to wavelengths of energy generated by the IPL energy source. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the shield is in the form of one of:
 corneal, semi-scleral or scleral.