Factors Affecting Comfort of a Contact Lens Material
o Higher modulus materials are less comfortable (e.g. early SiHy)
o Higher water content lenses can dry out and cause discomfort
o Poor wettability is related to reduced comfort
What is Oxygen Permeability?
o This the amount of oxygen that gets through the lens onto the cornea
o Is a combination of the oxygen transmittibility of the material and the thickness of the lens
Oxygen Permeability of Hydrogel Lenses
Example of Hydrogel Contact Lens Material
Poly-HEMA
Oxygen Permeability of Hydrogel Lenses
Advantages of Hydrogel Contact Lenses
Disadvantages of Hydrogel Contact Lenses
Advantages of silicone hydrogel Contact Lenses
Disadvantages of silicone hydrogel Contact Lenses
Spherical Soft Contact Lens Designs
Toric Soft Contact Lens Designs
Methods of Stabilising Toric SCLs
o Prism-ballast designs are thinner at the top and thinner at the bottom of the lens and the weight helps keep the lens orientated correctly
o Peri-ballast (similar to prism-ballast) the thicker area is closer to lens periphery.
o Thin zones at the top and bottom of lens allow the actions of the lids to maintain orientation
o Posterior torics feature a toric back surface which conforms to the cornea, allowing stability
Types of Multifocal Soft Contact Lens Design
Concentric Soft Multifocal Contact Lens Design
o Alternating rings of distance and near prescriptions
o Can be centre-distance or centre-near
Aspheric Soft Multifocal Contact Lens Design
o Features a gradual change in power from distance to near Rx
o Can be centre-distance or centre-near
Segmented Soft Multifocal Contact Lens Design
o Acts more like a traditional bifocal
o Distance prescription is always located in the upper section of the lens
o Lids help move the lower near prescription up into pupil view when patient looks down to read
Soft Contact Lens Parameters
Back Optic Zone Radius (BOZR) of a Soft Contact Lens
Total Diameter of a Soft Contact Lens
Water Content of a Soft Contact Lens
BVP of a Soft Contact Lens
Lens Thickness of a Soft Contact Lens
What Should be in a CL H&S
Lens Choice Based on How Often They Would Like to Wear Them