The Contact Lens
The contact lens has become increasingly popular since 1991, acting as a substitute for framed glasses.
The contact lens has an interesting history and spans much further back than you would expect. The concept of the contact lens was originally drawn up by Leonardo da Vinci in 1508. In 1801, scientist Thomas Young took the concept to the next stage and became the first person ever to wear the ‘contact lens’. This all sounds great, but he secured the lens to his eye using wax! ouch!
The design of the lens has obviously come a long way since then and is very popular among people today.
There are many types of lenses, depending upon eyesight diagnosis, shape of eye and material choice, although the principal function remains the same for all. Contact lenses are medical devices worn directly on the cornea of the eye. The purpose of the lens is to correct refractive errors by adding or subtracting focal power to the eye’s corner and lens.
The shape of the lens is designed very precisely to safely sit on the eye and allow the person to see clearly. The engineering behind the lens is incredible. The lens must translate the incident light rays upon the eye while working in tandem with the eyeball itself.
Although, I personally don’t wear contact lenses or glasses, I believe the design of them is impeccable. It gives people more confidence if they don’t enjoy wearing eyeglasses. Eyeglasses are of course very good, but they pose problems in a number of different ways accordingly to a range of people I have spoken with: (not all problems will apply to everyone)
- In this recent pandemic with wearing face masks, glasses often steam up with your breath. Quite frankly, it’s annoying.
- Not suitable for playing sport and are likely to get damaged
- Often get dirty if not regularly cleaned (fingerprints!!)
- Easy to scratch
- Can cause weight on your ears and nose
The contact lens offers relief from a lot of these problems however, I feel the biggest challenge you face with the contact lens is placing it in your eye. It’s not for everyone and certainly not for me but it does help a lot of people and therefore, I think it is a very good product.
9th February 2021.
References: https://coopervision.co.uk/about-contacts/how-contact-lenses-work