CLINICAL
CONTACT LENSES
CONTACT LENS HISTORY LESSON
TAKE A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE TO SEE HOW THE CONTACT LENSES OF TODAY CAME TO BE — AND THE DIRECTION THEY’RE HEADED NOW
THE CONTACT lens market has grown into a powerhouse industry and has become an integral part of many eye care practices. From daily disposables to color-enhancing contact lenses to specialty fits, today’s offerings allow practitioners to provide crisp, clear vision to a wide variety of patients of all ages and prescriptions.
Contact lenses have come a long way since their inception — particularly within the last 50 years, as the development of materials and modalities have paved the way for superior comfort and vision quality. To commemorate OM’s 50th anniversary, I celebrate the extraordinary journey of contact lenses. (See “Evolution of the Contact Lens,” right.)
Evolution of the Contact Lens
Here is a quick review of the early discoveries that led to the modern-day contact lens we now prescribe.
• 1508
Leonardo da Vinci illustrates the concept of the contact lens in his notebooks.
• 1823
British astronomer Sir John W. Herschel conceptualizes a practical contact lens design, suggesting a technique for grinding and fitting a contact lens to conform exactly to the eye’s surface.
• 1887
August Muller makes a transparent lens to protect a diseased eye.
• 1888
Adolf Eugen Fick manufactures the first contact lens from glass to correct his vision, and coins the term “contact lens.”
That same year, Eugene Kalt presents a paper in which he describes a flat contact lens that could treat keratoconus by more closely matching the corneal shape.
• 1938
Theodore Obrig and John Mullen introduce the first all-plastic contact lens made from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).
• 1947
American Kevin Tuohy introduces the first hard contact lens, which was fit to the cornea.
• 1950s
Czechoslovakian polymer chemist Otto Wichterle and colleague Drahoslav Lim develop the first soft contact lens from a transparent hydrogel plastic called hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA).
• 1972
Bausch + Lomb introduces a hydrogel lens.
• 1973
Jason R. Miller, writer of this column, was born (Ha!).
• 1978
The rigid gas permeable contact lens is introduced.
• 1981
FDA approves new soft contact lens for extended (overnight) wear.
• 1986
Overnight wear of the RGP contact lens becomes available.
• 1987
Disposable soft contact lens is introduced.
ON THE HORIZON
As with other areas of optometry, contact lens research is alive and well. Many companies are looking to develop more comfortable materials, improve on multifocal designs and expand their offerings to include more prescriptions.
For example, futuristic designs may include an “electro-active” element layer attached to the lens surface. This electronic contact lens would have an electronic circuit imprinted on the lens, providing virtual displays from the lens. Who knows? A Wi-Fi-enabled contact lens may be something we will be prescribing in the future!
It’s an exciting time in contact lenses, and I’m eager to see where the next 50 years take us! OM
| JASON R. MILLER, O.D., M.B.A., F.A.A.O., is a partner at Eyecare Professionals of Powell, in Powell, Ohio, a member of Vision Source and is an adjunct faculty member for The Ohio State University College of Optometry. To comment on this article, visit tinyurl.com/OMcomment. |
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