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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
3. SPONSORS
Development and delivery of contact lens education by IACLE is supported
through educational grants and in-kind contributions
Major In-Kind
Supporters
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Supporters
4. Published in Australia by
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators
First Edition 1997
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators 1996
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission, in writing, of:
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators
IACLE Secretariat,
PO Box 656
Kensington NSW 1465
Australia
Email: iacle@iacle.org
5. The IACLE Curriculum Project is the result of a desire to raise
the general standard of eyecare education, to make contact
lens wear safer and more successful, and to develop the
contact lens business further by creating the educational
infrastructure that will produce the teachers, students, and
practitioners of the future.
Full acknowledgements, along with the educator’s guide to the
IACLE Contact Lens Course (ICLC), can be found on the
IACLE website at www.iacle.org
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
13. 0
10
20
0 10 20 30 40
Dk/tavg (cm x ml O2) / (sec x ml x mm Hg)
Corneal
Swelling
(%)
Dk/tavg = 87 x 10-9
15
5
140
130
//
Holden and Mertz, 1984
OVERNIGHT OEDEMA vs Dk/t
EXTENDED WEAR
14. DYNAMIC OXYGEN SUPPLY
• Post-lens tear film exchange rates:
–SCL 1% per blink
–RGP 15 - 20% per blink
• Blinking
–rate
–quality (completeness)
• RGP vs SCL fitting characteristics
15. GAS MOVEMENT THROUGH LENSES
• Composition of polymer
• Temperature effect
• Partial pressure of gas at lens surface
• Lens thickness
• Boundary layer effect
19. GAS SOLUBILITY
• Absorption process of a gas within
the material
• Similar to a sponge which absorbs
and holds water
• Gas is dissolved, or solubilized,
into the material
20. RGP PERMEABILITY
• Siloxane bonds (Si-O-Si) provide
molecular sized 'voids'
• Size, rotation and flexibility of
bonds affect permeability
• Concentration gradient
21. RGP MATERIALS
SILOXANE COMPONENT
• Methyl groups small
• Methyl groups non-polar,
therefore more mobile
• Distance between Si atoms is
large
• Large polymer-free space
• Polymer backbone is highly
elastic (extensible)
Backbone
Compressed
Relaxed
Extended
O
CH3
Si
CH3
O
O
130°
Extensible
backbone
CH3
Si
CH3
Si
Methyl groups
can rotate
freely about
Si atom
22. RGP PERMEABILITY
Three step process:
• Gas dissolves into the anterior lens surface
• Diffusion through the lens proper
• Gas leaves via the posterior lens surface
and dissolves into the post-lens tear film
23. RGP PERMEABILITY
• Permeability is a function of molecular
motion and/or solubility
• Permeability increased by:
–improved surface characteristics
–higher temperatures
–decreased cross-linking
–greater atmospheric pressure
• Polymers involve compromises
25. RGP PERMEABILITY
• Siloxane is much more permeable
than flourine
• Fluorinated polymers have
superior surface characteristics
• Fluorine increases solubility of
oxygen in the material
FLUORINATED MATERIALS
26. RGP CONTACT LENSES
OXYGEN SUPPLY
• Material permeability
• Effect of deposits is minimal
• Lens thickness/BVP
• Tear exchange per blink
• Tear layer thickness under lens
27. SCL PERMEABILITY
• Gas flow through the water phase
(not polymer)
• Range of water contents
• Water properties within the polymer
–bound (non-freezing water)
–free (freezing water)
28. WATER CONTENT
WATER DIPOLE
CH3
H2C = C
C
CH2
CH2
O
H
O
O
Water dipole
O
H
H
+ +
–
–
+
O
H
H
+ +
–
O
H
H
+
+
–
Hydroxyl ‘tail’
HEMA monomer
O
H
–
+
Water dipoles at the
hydroxyl ‘tail’
Hydrogen bond
O
H
H
+ +
–
Bound water
Free water
30. SCL PERMEABILITY
• Only free water is available for O2 transport
• Ratio of bound to free water is influential
• New polymers (siloxane components)
• Effect of tints
–opaque
–dyes
31. NOVEL SCL POLYMER
• Biphasic block-copolymer
• Siloxane-based polymeric phase
• Coupled with a water phase
• O2 permeability increases as H2O
content decreases
36. CORNEAL SWELLING
Material (8 hrs wear) Swelling (%)
Low Water 12
Mid Water 10
High Water 11
Novel Polymer 4
Siloxane Elastomer 2.5
SCL OVERNIGHT WEAR
La Hood, CCLRU Data
37. CORNEAL SWELLING
Material (8 hrs wear) Swelling (%)
PMMA 6
Low Dk 3 - 4
Mod Dk 1
High Dk 0
RGP DAILY WEAR
La Hood, CCLRU Data
38. CORNEAL SWELLING
Material (8 hrs wear) Swelling (%)
Low Dk 10-13
Mod Dk 7-9
High Dk 5-6
RGP OVERNIGHT WEAR
La Hood, CCLRU Data
39. SILOXANE ELASTOMER
• A dimethyl polysiloxane polymer
• Inherently hydrophobic
• Pure polymer very oxygen permeable
• Permeability of the ‘filled’ polymer used
is significantly lower
40. SILOXANE ELASTOMER
• Less overnight swelling than no lens
2.0% vs 3.6%
• Possible reasons:
–decreased resistance to O2 flow from lid
–lens-induced lagophthalmos
–altered CO2 level
–reduced tonicity change
CORNEAL SWELLING
41. THANK YOU
Table of Contents
Feedback on errors, omissions, or suggestions for
improvement are invited. Please contact us at:
iacle@iacle.org
See the following slides explaining the symbols,
abbreviations, and acronyms used in the IACLE Contact Lens
Course