Freeform Contact Lens With Decentered Toric Stop Signals for Myopia Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contact lenses that correct myopia do not adequately address the underlying cause of excessive eye growth, leading to conditions like cataract, glaucoma, and retinal detachment, and existing designs often compromise visual performance or suffer from efficacy saturation over time.
Innovation Solution
A contact lens design featuring a decentred second region with an astigmatic, toric, or asymmetric power profile, providing a temporally and spatially varying optical stop signal through a rotationally asymmetric peripheral carrier zone, which decelerates myopia progression without significant visual performance degradation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a simple negative single vision lens is used to correct myopia, then the refractive error is corrected, but the underlying cause of excessive eye growth is not addressed and myopia progression continues
Solution Approach 1:
The contact lens is divided into multiple functional zones: a central optical zone for refractive error correction and a peripheral carrier zone for providing myopia control signals. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function independently, addressing both refractive correction and progression control simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the contact lens are assigned different optical properties. The central zone provides single vision power for clear distance vision, while the peripheral zone introduces optical defocus signals to slow eye growth. This local differentiation enables the lens to correct vision while controlling myopia progression
2Productivity
If existing contact lens designs are used to control myopia progression, then some efficacy is achieved, but visual performance is compromised or efficacy saturates over time
Solution Approach 1:
The peripheral carrier zone is designed to rotate with eye movement, dynamically changing the orientation and position of the optical stop signal on the retina. This dynamic behavior ensures continuous provision of myopia control signals without saturation and maintains visual performance by adapting to natural eye movements
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation of the peripheral carrier zone creates periodic variation in the optical stop signal delivery. This periodic action prevents efficacy saturation by continuously refreshing the stimulus to the retina, maintaining long-term effectiveness in controlling myopia progression
3Productivity
If a fixed optical stop signal is provided to control myopia progression, then initial efficacy is achieved, but effectiveness decreases over time due to saturation
Solution Approach 1:
The peripheral carrier zone rotates with eye movements, transforming a fixed optical stop signal into a dynamic one. This rotation ensures continuous variation in signal delivery, preventing neural adaptation and saturation, thereby maintaining effectiveness over extended periods
Solution Approach 2:
The system utilizes eye movement as feedback to drive the rotation of the peripheral carrier zone. This creates a closed-loop system where natural eye movements automatically modulate the optical stop signal delivery, ensuring continuous effectiveness without external intervention
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design maintains consistent efficacy in reducing myopia progression over time by varying the optical stop signal, ensuring long-term effectiveness and minimal visual disturbances.
Implementation Method 1
a decentred second region configured with an astigmatic, or toric, or asymmetric power distribution, the second region located substantially away from the optical centre and configured to provide at least in part directional cues in form of a regional conoid or interval of Sturm producing an optical stop signal on the retina
Implementation Method 2
the non-optical peripheral carrier zone is configured with a thickness profile that is substantially rotationally symmetric to further provide temporally and spatially varying stop signals to decelerate, ameliorate, control, inhibit, or reduce the rate of myopia progression over time
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure generally relates to contact lenses for use with eyes experiencing eye-length related disorders, like myopia. This invention relates to contact lens for managing myopia wherein the contact lens comprises of an optical zone about an optical axis and a non-optical peripheral carrier zone about the optical zone; wherein the optical zone is configured with a substantially single vision power profile providing correction for the eye, and a decentred second region configured with an astigmatic, or toric, or asymmetric power distribution, the second region located substantially away from the optical centre and configured to provide at least in part a regional conoid or interval of Sturm producing an optical stop signal for the eye; and wherein the non-optical peripheral carrier zone is configured with a thickness profile that is substantially rotationally symmetric to further provide a temporally and spatially varying stop signals to reduce myopia progression.