The history of contact lenses is intriguing, spanning decades and continents. You probably don't imagine yourself with a bowl of water on your head when you think about contact lenses. Strangely, it was exactly how the contacts had started. Are you interested to learn more about contact lens history and how it evolved with time and cutting-edge technology then These slides cover the whole evolution process of contact lenses.

1. The History of
Contact Lenses
theviewoptique.com

2. The first contact lens was designed by Leonardo da Vinci in 1508.
Leonardo Da Vinci in 1508

3. Rene Descartes in 1636
The French scientist René Descartes developed a novel idea in 1636 after
studying Leonardo's work: placing a glass tube filled with liquid in close contact
with the cornea.
Because they make touch with the cornea, this is how the term "contact lenses"
came to be used.

4. Thomas Young in 1801
Based on Descartes' idea, Thomas Young, an English physicist, created the first
simple set of contact lenses in 1801.

5. F.E. Muller in 1887
In 1887 that a German glassblower by the name of F.E. Muller created the first
object that could truly be tolerated as an eye cover.

6. In The Early 1880s
In the early 1880s, contact lenses underwent a revolution. Thanks to new
techniques for glass manufacture, cutting, and shape, thin lenses could now be
produced for the first time in history.

7. Drs. Adolf Fick, Eugene Cult, And Louis J. Girard
Fitted glass contact lens designs that allowed blinking were created individually
by Drs. Adolf Fick, Eugene Cult, and Louis J. Girard.

8. Dr. Fick “A Conctact Spectle”
Most people credit Dr. Fick, a Swiss physician who wrote about the first contact
lens for vision correction in his paper "A Contact Spectacle," with coming up with
the idea.

9. F.A. Mueller in 1887
The first lens sample was made by F. A. Mueller, a business that made artificial
eyes, in 1887. These specific contact lenses were called scleral lenses because
they covered the entire eye instead of just the cornea.

10. Dr. Fick in 1888
In 1888, Dr. Fick invented the first contact lens and fitted it successfully. Fick's
contacts, however, had two critical shortcomings. First, the lenses were made
from thick blown glass. They had a diameter of 18 to 21 mm as well.

11. Sir John Herschel’s Theories
Sir John Herschel's theories on the creation of corneal molds could eventually be
proven by the late 1920s thanks to technological advancements in anesthesia
and materials.
Herschel's theories were validated in 1929 by Dr. Dallos and Istvan Komàromy of
Hungary, who established a technique for creating molds from live eyes.
It became possible to design contact lenses that matched the shape of the eye for
the first time.

12. Kevin Tuohy in 1948
An English optical specialist by the name of Kevin Tuohy was polishing down a
plastic lens covering the white of the eye in 1948, a piece of it broke off.
Rather than starting over, he decided to use the smaller lens. Before inserting it,
he smoothed the corners. He was happy to see that the lens worked and stayed
in place even when he blinked.

13. George Butterfield in 1950
George Butterfield proposed the idea of a curved corneal lens rather than a flat
one in 1950.

14. Frank Dickenson, Wilhelm, And John Neil in 1950-60
Frank Dickenson, Wilhelm Sohnjes, and John Neil developed lenses that were
0.20 millimeters thinner later in the 1950s. Early in the 1960s, even thinner
lenses—about 0.10 millimeters—were made available.

15. Otto Wichterle in 1958
Beginning in 1958 that would swiftly alter. Otto Wichterle, a chemist from the
Czechoslovak Republic, began creating a brand-new plastic in 1958. It was
incredible and went by the name of hydrogel.
When wet, it remained supple and flexible while taking on a shape and being
molded. Dr. Robert Morrison, an American ophthalmologist, saw the potential
relevance of Wichterle's discoveries to contact lenses when he learned about
them.

16. Bausch & Lomb in 1960
When Bausch & Lomb had access to hydrogel in 1960, they advanced it. They
improved a method for mass manufacturing flat surfaces and a casting process.

17. Ciba Vision in 1998
In 1998, Ciba Vision released the first high-oxygen permeability silicone
hydrogels. Over the subsequent 25 years, both hard and soft contact lenses
continued to progress, particularly
in terms of oxygen permeability, which allows the eyes to breathe.

18. References
https://blog.theviewoptique.com/post/2022/06/14/the-history-of-contact-lenses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_lens
https://www.mastereyeassociates.com/contact-lens-history#:~:text=Contact%20le
nses%20as%20we%20know,for%20the%20first%20soft%20lenses.