A crisp but detailed relevant History of contact lenses with timeline relevant to each period.

1. By
Lavanya Kalikivayi, M.Opt., FLVPEI., FIACLE.,
(Pursuing PhD)
Associate Professor
Ahalia School of Optometry & Research Centre

3. 1508 Leonardo da vinci
Schematic
eye immersed
in water
1637 Rene Descartes
Enlarging the
retinal image
(Concept of
telescope)
1801 Thomas Young
25mm tube filled
with H2O-placed
in front of the eye
with eye in
contact.

4. 1845 Sir John Herschel
A spherical
glass on jelly
over corneal
surface
1859 William White Cooper
Glass mask filled the
fornices to prevent
symblepharon
(Therapeutic Use Concept)
1887 F A Muller & Sons Pioneers in artificial
eye making
(Father of Contact Lenses)

6. 1888 Adolf E Fick Corrective CLs. Blown glass
material with 2% glucose
solution fill to avoid corneal
clouding
Eugene Kalt
• Devised CLs for Keratoconus.
• Cauterization of corneal cone with silver nitrate &
instillation of Miotics with application of pressure
dressing
• Replaced with glass shellwith curvature same as
cornea to increase VA.
1889 August Muller
• Suggested making post. Surface of CLs similar to ant.
Surface.
• Capillary action of tear film would enable CLs to
adhere to cornea.
• Tried molding corneal shape in vivo which was NOT
successful

7. 1892 D.E.Sulzer Corneal irregularity can be
masked by filling with a liquid
having RI same as cornea &
aqueous.
Henry H Dor
• Replaced glucose solution with normal saline with same tonicity
of tears to reduce corneal edema.
1896 Thomas Lohnstein
• “Water Spectacles” – CL filled with saline was worn
successfully for 1 to 1.5 hours at a time.
• Also called “Hydrodiascope”
1911 Carl Zeiss of Jena
• Made lathe cut lenses from molds.
• Better optical performance.
• First commercially available trial lenses (21)
• Fit assessment involved using fluorescein & observation of bubble formation.

9. 1930 Rohm & Haas • Developed a novel plastic
material from acrylic resin
(Soft & rubber like)
• Precursor of PMMA
Crawford & Hill
• Patented PMMA & the trade name was “Perspex”
• Material of choice foe corneo scleral lenses.
• Low specific gravity
• Ease of manufacture
1937
J Teissler
• Scleral shells from CAB
• Poor optical quality
1946 Dennis C England
1934
• First corneal CL with
PMMA, but got
rejected as correcting
irregular cornea, ‘K’
alone is not sufficient.
Kevin M Tuohy
• PMMA with 1mm Dia & 0.4mm thickness
– patented corneal contact lenses
1950 George H Butterfield Patented Multicurve
Design
1936 Theodore Obrig
Discovered use of cobalt blue
light & fluorescein
In 1942, published
the first text book
on CL fitting

11. 1954 Otto Wichterle & Drashoslav Lim
• Discovered pHEMA with 38.6% water content
• Since this was unstable Xerogel polymer was used to
have stable physical properties.
• Led to development of HEMA
• Centrifugal molding (spin casting) & patent in 1961.
1956 Walter & Becker Developed & patented
Silicone Elastomers
1964 NPDC & Robert Morrison
(National Patent Development Corporation)
Brought
Spin Casting
Patent
1966 B&L acquired license to manufacture
spin casting.
1968 US FDA classified SCL as a “Drug”.
1970 John de Carle
Pioneered the Continuous Wear
concept.
in H2O content, in Dia. leads to in DK
Dev. “Permalens” (copolymer of
HEMA+VP+MA) with 71% H2O content

13. 1972 Norman Gaylord & Leonard Seidner
(Father of RGP CLs)
• Developed Silicone Acrylates.
• Polycon lenses
1974 Norman O Stahl, Leon A Reich, &
Edward Lvani
• Developed new RGP material
• CAB-Rx-56
• Hi-index
• Strong & resistant to high temperatures
• DK higher than PMMA
• But Dimensionally unstable.
1982 - Boston II developed
1983 - Don Ezekiel (Australia) GP Sclerals
1986 - Paraperm EW Dk 57
1997 - Paragon HDS, Space Shuttle Endeavour, 10-year program

15. 1971 B&L obtained FDA approval to market SCL, “Softlens”.
1978 Orlando A Battista
• Developed collagen CLs
• Conceived Disposable lens
concept
• Was unstable & dissolved in
tears.
1980 Michael Bay
• Introduced high H2O content hydrogels
• “Danalens” first disposable SCL made commercially
1981 Cooper vision acquired “Permalens” to manufacture & market.
1984 J&J Vistakon acquired these & modified with Etafilcon A material
with 58% H2O content.
1985 B&L acquired the “Silsoft” design DW SCL for aphakia from Dow
Corning Company.
1987 Marketed them as Acuvue lens
1994
Daily disposable marketed by J&J Vistakon as “Acuvue” &
B&L as “ Occasions”.
The world of CLs changed forever with the
launch of J&J’s Acuvue disposable CLs.
US: 1987, UK & Australia: 1988

16. • A patent for a non-circular, toric SCL granted (filed,
1997) to a team (Payor, Zhang, Williams, & Lafferty)
from CIBA Vision, Atlanta.
1994
• Rotationally Stabilized Contact Lens and Method of Lens Stabilization
• Clinical trials were favourable
• Prism-free optics
• Complexity of design a disadvantage
• Cost of secondary manufacture makes cost less competitive
• Non-circular shape means shape is not self-generating
1999 Launch of the first two silicon hydrogel CLs within
months of each other, both for monthly CW
Night & Day from CIBA Vision
Purevision from B&L
J&J add a UV filter & 123 inversion marks to Acuvue 2 &
Acuvue Bifocal CLs

18. 2002 • Silicone hydrogel contact lenses.
2010 • Custom manufactured Silicone hydrogels
• Ortho K lenses (Corneal reshaping lenses)
• CIBA Vision 1st DD toric CL, Focus Dailies Toric
• The Triton translating soft bifocal CL by Don Ezekiel of Gelflex Australia
gained FDA approval
2007 Ultravision launch custom SiHy CLs in Kerasoft, HydroWave,
bandage, paediatric, aphakic, & myopic CL ranges

19. 2011
Luxury CLs with gold & diamond decoration revealed –
practical? – wearable?
Myopia control using modulation of peripheral focus
comes to the fore using orthokeratology & multifocal CLs
for emerging myopes
Coopervision launch MiSight in a limited roll-out is key
Asia-Pacific countries for myopia control
2013 SynergEyes launch their hybrid CLs:
Duette
Duette Progressive
Duette MultiFocal
UltraHealth
ClearKone

20. 
2014
• Google announce plans to produce a CL version
of their Google Glass product (GG is being
revised as @ 2015)
• Google are also working on CLs to monitor the
blood sugar levels for diabetics (see earlier)
• Alcon announce Air Optix Colors, a series of
tinted SiHy CLs
• J&J release their Define DD, eye highlighting CLs