4. Contact Lenses
• Contact lenses are lenses/
ocular prosthetic devices
that are placed directly on
the surface of the eyes.
• They are used for a variety
of reasons – therapeutic,
cosmetic, diagnostic.
5. History of CLs
1880s- Scleral lenses
1940s – development of
PMMA (Hard lenses)
1970s – development of
HEMA (Soft lenses)
1980s – development of
RGP lenses (gas
permeable)
1990s – development of
silicone hydrogel lenses
6. Contact Lens materials
Can be classified as hard
or soft based on rigidity.
Can be classified as
hydrophilic or hydrophobic
based on interaction with
water.
Can be classified by
modality – daily wear,
extended wear and
continuous wear
8. PMMA
(Polymethylmethacrylate)
Organic plastic
compounds but hard as
glass
Refractive Index: 1.48 -
1.50
Pros: good clarity,
durability, lack of toxicity
Cons: lack of oxygen
permeability can leads to
corneal hypoxia and
limbal neovasularization.
9. Cellulose Acetate Butyrate
Used to make Rigid Gas
Permeable (RGP)
lenses.
Pros: Slightly better
oxygen permeability,
strong and durable
Con: Prone to warpage
(temporary change in
corneal curvature not
associated with corneal
edema. Regress after
CL is removed)
14. Base Curve
Base
Curve/Posterior
Central Curvature:
curvature of central
posterior surface of
the lens adjacent to
cornea. Measured in
mm (radius) or
dioptric power
(reciprocal of radius)
in air.
15. Diameter
Diameter: Width of
contact lens, typically
varies with lens
material (SCL - 13mm
to 15mm, HCL -9mm to
10mm).
Scleral CLs have a
diameter of around
25mm.
16. Power
Power: dioptric power of
the contact lens similar
to posterior vertex
power of spectacle lens
calculated by Snell’s law
D=[n2-n1]/r
n1= Refractive Index in
air, n2= Refractive Index
CL constant
r= radius of curvature of
CL
17. Optic Zone
Optic Zone – Area of
front surface of contact
lens that is main
contributor to refractive
power of the contact
lens
18. Peripheral curves
Peripheral curves:
Secodary curves just
outside the base curve
at the edge of the lens.
Typically flatter than the
base curve with edges
smoothed out/blended to
increase comfort and
reduce aberrations.
19. Tear Lens
Tear Lens – Optical
lens formed by the
tear film layer
between posterior
surface of a contact
lens and anterior
surface of cornea.
20. Tear Lens
Soft CLs are flexible and conform
to shape of cornea so tear lens in
Soft CLs have identical front and
back surfaces making it’s power
plano.
In Rigid CLs, tear lens can have
different anterior and posterior
surfaces thus inducing an inherent
power of their own which is then
added to the optical system of the
eye.
21. Tear Lens
Steeper than K – plus power
On K – no power
Flatter than K – minus power
24. Field of view
Contact lenses provide a larger field of view than spectacle
lenses.
CLs move with the eye and ensure good vision in all gaze
positions.
Much of peripheral distortion such as spherical abberations
are avoided by CLs.
25. Image size/ Anisometropia
Recall - Relative Spectacle Magnification - change
in retinal image size with optical correction.
In axial myopes, correcting lens closer to anterior
focal point produces a magnified image
Because CLs have a shorter vertex distance image
size changes are less pronounced with CLs as
compared to spectacles.
CLs produce a magnified image in axial myopes.
In refractive ametropia image size approaches
emmetropic image size as lens is moved nearer
than anterior focal point.
26. Aniseikonia
Aniseikonia- difference in retinal image size due to unequal
magnification
Can be due to retinal pathology or anisometropia (e.g in
unilateral aphakic patient)
Aniseikonia is reduced with CLs as they become itegral part of
optical system of the eye.
Hence CLs can improve binocular vision in some cases.
Uncorrected Corrected with Spectacles CLs
27. Convergence
Spectacle lenses centered for
distance induce a prismatic effect
when eyes converge for near
vision.
Hyperopic specatcle correction
increases convergence demand
while myopic spectacle correction
increases convergences demand.
This is because as eyes
converge, the spectacles don’t.
CLs remain centered at all gazes
hence they reduce this effect.
CLs decrease convergence
demand in hypermetropic eye
and increase convergence
demand in myopic eye.
A- convergence demand
increases in hyperope
spectacles
B- convergence demand
decreased in myopic
28. Accomodation
Myopic spectacles have a
base-in prismatic effect
that reduces the amount
of convergence and
accomodation.
Using CLs therefore
demands greater
convergence and
accomodation.
29. Accomodation
Compared with spectacle lenses:
1. CLs increase the accomodative requirements of
myopic eye and decrease
2. CLs decrease accomodative requirements of
hypermetropic eye.
This is because CLs eliminate accomodative advantage
of myopia correcting spectacles and accomodative
disadvantage of hypermetropia correcting spectacles.
30. Prisms
It is possible to incorporate upto 3 dioptres of prism
power to a corneal CL and upto 6 dioptres of prism
power in a scleral lens.
Prism is always base down because it’s weight can
rotate CL.
Horizontal prismatic correction is not possible with
corneal CLs.
31. Optical Aberrations
Prismatic aberrations reduced by CLs as described earlier.
Oblique aberrations occuring when looking through non-
axial portion of lens is also minimized by CLs.
32. Keratoconus
Certain cases of
Keratoconus may also
benefit from contact lens
use.
Usually only rigid contact
lenses allow good vision
in such cases.
If cornea is too steep or
scarred CLs may not be
appropriate.
33. Multifocal CL
Presbyopic, aphakic and pseudophakic patients need to
achieve optical correction for more than 1 distance as
their accomodation is reduced or absent.
Different CLs can be prescribed to these patients as an
alternative.
One of these options is monovision which means fitting
one eye with a lens for distance correction and fellow eye
with a lens for near correction. In such cases, patients
must learn to adapt to concentrating on clearer image
from one eye.
34. Multifocal CL
Multifocal and Bifocal
CLs have different
designs e.g annular
where central zone
corrects for distance and
surrouding annular
zones correct for near.
35. Multifocal CL
For concentric/Annular CLs, patient must adapt to
concentrate on viewing through certain part of the CL to
form a clear image on the retina.
For aspheric CLs the central part of the CL corrects for
distance and there is a gradual transition in power at the
periphery which corrects for near.
For segmental bifocal CLs, the near addition is incorporated
in the lower portion of the lens. The eye looks through the
distance portion when in primary position.
Diffractive bifocal lenses have concentric diffraction rings on
their posterior surface which focus equally on distance and
near objects.
36. Problems with CL useage
Ill fitting CL – if
posterior surfce of CL
is flat it will move
excessively on cornea
and cross visual axis
CL power is affected
by evaporation of
water, temperature,
dryness of
atmosphere.
Corneal Warpage
Mechanical, hypoxic,
immmune response
and suppurative
keratitis
38. Low Vision Aids - Intro
An optical or non-optical device that
immproves or enhances residual vision by
magnifying image of object at retinal level.
Magnifying devices of several kinds are used
to assist poorly sighted patients in daily life.
Most of LVAs are designed to help with
reading.
However some LVAs help with distance vision
as well e.g watching TV, bus numbers etc
39.
40. Low Vision Aids - Intro
Most LVAs present the patient with
a magnified view of object by
increasing angle subtended by the
object at eye.
Recall – angular magnification is
governed by the angle subtended at
the eye. If the angle stays constant
the apparent size of image of
objects at A, B, C or D remains
42. Convex Lenses
A convex lens (32D)
may be used as a
magnifying loupe.
Object is brought within
the focal length of the
convex lens and an
erect, virtual and
magnified image is
formed.
High powered convex
lenses mounted in
spectacles work
similarly.
Power of such lens is
43. Convex Lenses
Convex lens may also
be used as hand held
magnifiers or mounted
on legs as stand
magifiers.
Paperweight magnifiers
rest on page and use a
thick plano convex lens.
Bar shaped cylindrical
convex lenses may also
be used for reading.
44. Convex Lenses
Object is located between
first principal focus and the
lens.
As the object moves closer
to the lens the virtual
image enlarges.
Hence the hand held
magnifier can be
positioned at an
appropriate distance by the
patient.
Field of vision – increases
with size of lens,
decreased with eye-lens
distance.
45. Galilean System
Galiliean telescope
is an optical system
that produces an
erect magnified
image.
Composed of a
convex objective
and concave
eyepiece lens
separated by
46. Galilean System
Works by increasing the
angle subtended by the
object at the eye.
Fe- Power of eye piece lens in dioptres
Fo – Power of objective lens in dioptres
47. Galilean System
Pros:
1. Good enhancement of
distant vision
Cons:
1. Restricted Field of view
2. Depth Perception distorted
3. Expensive
51. Limitations of LVAs
High magnification results in decreased field of view –
makes rapid scanning difficult
Object has to be held close to eye
Depth of field reduced