Purpose: To examine the usefulness of a newly developed noninvasive mobile pen-shaped meibography system.
Methods: This study evaluated a newly developed noninvasive mobile pen-shaped meibography system comprising an infrared light-emitting diode as the light source and a highly sensitive complementary metal oxide semiconductor image camera. The images were recorded digitally. The utility of this system was compared with that of the previously developed noncontact infrared meibography system for examination of the upper and lower eyelids in 20 healthy volunteers (range, 2-91 years) and 23 patients with meibomian gland dysfunction, 17 patients with dry eyes who wore contact lenses, and 14 patients with allergic conjunctivitis accompanied by itching.
Results: Using the newly developed noninvasive mobile pen-shaped meibography system, clear images of the meibomian glands were obtained in all age groups. The quality of the images obtained was similar between the two meibography systems. The quantitative analysis of the images obtained showed no statistically significant difference between the two meibography systems.
Conclusions: The newly developed noninvasive mobile pen-shaped meibography system is a useful tool that provides meibomian gland images of the same quality and quantity as the noncontact meibography system equipped with a slit lamp. This new system is convenient and applicable for examination of meibomian glands in patients of all ages.