Customized manufacture of molds for making wavefront-customized contact lens using a wavefront aberrometer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contact lens manufacturing methods are limited to discrete optical powers and do not account for individual patient-specific higher order aberrations, leading to suboptimal visual image quality and performance.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for manufacturing wavefront-customized contact lenses using a wavefront aberrometer to measure ocular imperfections, design a customized mold, and fabricate lenses that correct these imperfections through casting or injection molding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If discrete optical powers are used in molded contact lenses, then manufacturing efficiency and cost are improved, but visual image quality and performance deteriorate due to uncorrected aberrations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mold manufacturing process into standardized base molds for mass production and customizable add-on elements for individual aberration correction. This allows the majority of lens manufacturing to remain efficient through molding while enabling precise customization for each patient's specific aberrations through modular additions to the mold design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the optical parameters of the mold surfaces to incorporate patient-specific aberration corrections. By modifying the surface curvature and optical power parameters of the mold based on wavefront aberrometry data, the system enables customized correction while maintaining the overall molding manufacturing process
2Manufacturing precision
If customized molds are manufactured for each patient, then visual image quality is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary wavefront aberrometry measurements and mold design calculations before the actual lens manufacturing process. By determining the required aberration corrections in advance and creating customized molds beforehand, the system streamlines the subsequent mass production process rather than adding complexity during manufacturing
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a digital copy or model of the patient's specific aberrations through wavefront aberrometry, then uses this digital model to design the customized mold. This digital copying approach simplifies the translation from patient measurement to physical mold manufacturing by using computer-aided design and simulation
3Manufacturing precision
If lathing is used to make customized contact lenses, then individual aberration correction is achieved, but production volume is limited and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical lathing process with a molding process for manufacturing customized contact lenses. By substituting the subtractive lathing method with a formative molding approach using customized molds, the system maintains precise aberration correction while enabling mass production through the inherent efficiency of molding processes
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
Enables the production of customized contact lenses that correct for individual patient-specific aberrations, improving visual image quality and performance while allowing mass production at a lower cost, facilitating daily wear lenses with enhanced comfort and reduced infection risk.
Implementation Method 1
a wavefront aberrometer to measure ocular imperfections
Implementation Method 2
The space between the front mold and the back pin is then filled with a liquid contact lens material, which is then cured, forming a solid contact lens
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for manufacturing a wavefront-customized contact lens. The systems include: (1) an optical instrument for measuring ocular imperfections of a patient's eye; (2) a computer for designing a mold and pin design used for manufacturing a wavefront-customized contact lens that corrects the ocular imperfections; (3) a fabrication machine for fabricating a wavefront-customized mold that includes corrections for the ocular imperfections; and (4) a manufacturing equipment for manufacturing a wavefront-customized contact lenses that uses the wavefront-customized mold; wherein the wavefront-customized mold design and wavefront-guided contact lens manufacturing are uniquely customized for each patient's eye. The optical means can be a wavefront aberrometer with, or without, a profilometer and/or an Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) module. The wavefront-customized contact lens can be a soft contact lens or a rigid, gas permeable contact lens.