Method and system for diagnosing a disease using eye optical data

Abstract

A method for diagnosing a disease, disease state, or disease stage of a user is described herein. Goggles are providing having a radiation source, a radiation sensor, and a microcontroller. The goggle are assembled about a user's head. Optical data is collected from the user's eye, where the optical data includes at least two of the following: a) a wavefront of reflected radiation from the user's eye; b) a spectrum of reflected radiation from the user' eye; and c) one or more wavelengths of reflected to radiation from the user's eye. A statistical match between the user's optical data and a historical user's optical data is determined. A diagnoses of a disease, disease state, or disease stage of the user is determined based on a diagnosed disease, disease state, or disease stage of the historical user.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for diagnosing a disease, a disease state, or a disease stage of a user, said method comprising:
 providing goggles, said goggles self-containing:
 a radiation source to emit radiation into a user's eye; 
 a radiation sensor to detect radiation reflected from the user's eye; and 
 a microcontroller in communication with the radiation source and the radiation sensor; 
   assembling the goggles about a user's head such that the radiation source and radiation sensor are situated in front of a user's eye;   emitting radiation into the user's eye with the radiation source;   detecting a user's optical data with the radiation sensor, said optical data comprising at least two of the following: a) a wavefront of reflected radiation from the user's eye; b) a spectrum of reflected radiation from the user' eye; and c) one or more wavelengths of reflected radiation from the user's eye;   determining a statistical match between the user's optical data and optical data from one or more historical users, wherein the statistical match is determined with a diagnostic software module executed by a processor; and   diagnosing a disease, disease state, or disease stage of the user based on a diagnosed disease, disease state, or disease stage of the one or more historical users.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the optical data comprises all three of the following: a) a wavefront of reflected radiation from the user's eye; b) a spectrum of reflected radiation from the user' eye; and c) one or more wavelengths of reflected radiation from the user's eye. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2  wherein the optical data further comprises an angular degree of reflected radiation. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the optical data from the one or more historical users is stored in a master database. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the microcontroller comprises the processor and non-transient memory, wherein the master database and diagnostic software module are stored in the non-transient memory, and the determination of the statistical match is performed by the processor of the microcontroller. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the master database is stored in non-transient memory external to the goggles. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the master database stores optical data from a plurality of historical users, wherein at least two historical users have been diagnosed with different diseases. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7  wherein the microcontroller comprises the processor and non-transient memory, wherein the non-transient memory of the microcontroller stores optical data from a selected portion of historical users having being diagnosed with one specific type of disease. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the diagnostic software module is executed by a processor external to the goggles. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 4  wherein the goggles further comprise a transmitter, to wherein the method further comprises transmitting and storing the user's optical data in the master database to assist in diagnosing a disease, disease state, or disease stage of a future user. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the optical data further comprises the presence or concentration of one or more blood analytes present in the user's eye blood vessels, eye tissues, or eye tissue structures. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the one or more wavelengths of reflected radiation detected from the user's eye is frequency shifted from a wavelength of radiation emitted from the radiation source. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising:
 locating at least one tissue, tissue structure, or blood vessel in the user's eye; and 
 targeting the emitted radiation from the radiation source to the targeted tissue, tissue structure, or blood vessel in the user's eye. 
 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the radiation source includes at least one of a light emitting diode (LED), a solid-state laser, an incandescent light, or a fluorescent light, and 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein the radiation sensor includes at least one of a charged-coupled device (CCD) sensor, a Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor, or an array of photodiodes. 
     
     
         16 . A diagnostic eye goggle system for diagnosing a disease, disease state, or disease stage of a user, the system comprising:
 the goggles of  claim 1 , wherein the goggles are configured to detect a user's optical data, said optical data comprising at least two of the following: a) a wavefront of reflected radiation from the user's eye; b) a spectrum of reflected radiation from the user' eye; and c) one or more wavelengths of reflected radiation from the user's eye;   a master database stored on non-transient memory for storing optical data from a plurality of historical users; and   a diagnostic software module stored on non-transient memory and executed by a processor, wherein the software module when executed by the processor determines a statistical match between the user's optical data and optical data from one or more historical users, wherein the diagnostic software module further diagnoses a disease, disease state, or disease stage of the user based on a diagnosed disease, disease state, or disease stage of the one or more historical users.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the goggles further comprise a transmitter for establishing a data-link between the microcontroller and the master database. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16  wherein the microcontroller comprises the processor and the non-transient memory, wherein the processor executes the diagnostic software module, and the non-transient memory stores the master database and the diagnostic software module. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the user's optical data is transmitted to the master database, and the diagnostic software module is executed by a processor external to the goggles. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 17  wherein the master-database is stored in non-transient memory external to the goggles, and the diagnostic software module is executed by a processor associated with the microcontroller.