The History of Contact Lenses

The History of Contact Len Did you know that the first historical record of vision improvement dates all the way back to ancient Egypt? Since then, humans have made a lot of progress, from the first true pair of eyeglasses made in Italy in the 13th century to the modern convenience of daily contacts. Vision Pros investigates the history of contact lenses below, giving us insight into the incredible journey this invention has made and what we might see in the future. 1508 Leonardo da Vinci illustrates the concept of contact lenses by filling a bowl with water and discovering enhanced vision due to improved refraction and peripheral visual acuity. 1636 French scientist Renee Descartes writes Dioptric, in which he explains his theories on light and vision and proposes the idea of a corneal contact lens. 1685 Philippe de la Hire creates drawings that illustrate how a concave lens placed on the eye could send light into the retina. EXTERNAL RECTUS TER RECTB 1827 British astronomer Sir John Herschel suggests neutralizing the cornea with a mold made from gelatin in a spherical capsule. 1887 The first contact lens is manufactured from glass by German glassblower Friedrich Antor Muller and fitted to cover the entire eye. 1937 In Hungary, Istvan Gyorffy begins to use polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) to make scleral lenses from molds taken of the human eye. 1961 Czech chemist Otto Wichterle invents soft contact lenses using a centrifugal casting procedure. 1971 o Introduction of gas permeable plastic contact lenses that allowed oxygen into the eye. 1978 Bausch & Lomb introduces the first commercial soft contact lens to the U.S. market. 1981- FDA approves new soft contact lenses for extended (overnight) wear. 1995 One-day disposable soft lenses are introduced to the consumer market by Ron Hamilton of Scotland. 2002 The first daily disposable multifocal lenses are introduced to the market. 2010 Custom-manufactured silicone- hydrogel lenses become available. What Will We See in the Future? Researchers at Ghent University have been working on smart contact lenses that use an LCD display to put images (mostly text) right on your eyes. Potential uses are vision-improvement, sun protection, and to cosmetically alter the eyes. The gradient-index (GRIN) lens, constructed of thousands of transparent polymer consecutive layers, could serve as night-vision goggles, laser rangefinders, and cameras directly in the eye. VisionPros.com America's Trusted Online Optical Store SOURCES: http://www.contactlenses.org/timeline.htm http://www.twoop.com/medicine/archives/2005/10/contact_lenses.html http://www.andrewgasson.co.uk/chronology.htm http://www.college-optometrists.org/en/college/museyeum/online_exhibitions/contact_lenses/dispose.cfm http://gizmodo.com/5964392/these-super+light-polymer-lenses-may-eventually-replace-human-corneas http://gizmodo.com/this-new-contact-lens-basically-turns-your-eye-into-a-t-598794815 http://gizmodo.com/5966842/this-contact-lens-can-put-text-right-on-your-eye http://www.flaticon.com/authors/freepik http://www.flaticon.com/authors/icomoon designed by BRIM