ALEXANDRIA, Va., Aug. 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,383,240, issued on Aug. 12.
"Intraductal meibomian gland probing with microtube use" was invented by Steven L. Maskin (Tampa, Fla.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A microtube is used to obtain a meibum sample from an intraductal space within a meibomian gland while avoiding contamination of the sample due to contact with the lid margin. The microtube can also be used as a gland marker providing a reference marker for subsequent visualization of one or more adjacent glands, as well as a stent for a meibomian gland having lining being repopulated with cells or replaced."
The patent was filed on April 13, 2020, under Application No. 16/847,...