Did you know that approximately 140-150 million people wear contact lenses worldwide? The global prevalence of ocular impairment has led to an increased reliance on vision correction tools like eyeglasses and contacts to treat and prevent the development of eye issues. In fact, the market size of contact lenses in the United States alone is valued at $2.96 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $4.47 billion by 2032, owing to increased rates of vision issues among Americans and advancements in lens technology.
Contact lenses provide vision correction for people with diverse ocular needs. But recent breakthroughs in lens development are now paving the way for game-changing innovations that offer a brighter future for contact wearers. But where are these advancements taking us? Below, we look at contact lenses, contact types, and recent developments.
What are contacts, and how do they work?
Contacts are discreet, round lenses made of hydrogel and silicon hydrogel polymers placed on the eye’s surface. They are used to correct refractive errors – or changes in eye shape that prevent light from focusing directly on the retina – that cause vision issues. Several brands of contact lenses, such as ACUVUE, Dailies, and Biofinity, are currently available on the market. These all provide vision correction depending on specific ocular needs and include features like hydrating technologies to ensure that the eyes remain moisturized and comfortable.
Eye care professionals prescribe contact lenses to treat common eye issues like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Specialty contact lenses are also available for conditions like keratoconus, which affects the structure of the cornea, corneal scarring, and other issues.
Different types of contact lenses
There are two primary types of contact lenses: soft contact lenses and rigid gas permeable (RGP) contact lenses. As the name suggests, soft contacts have a smoother and more flexible structure that makes them comfortable to wear. These soft contact lenses can be replaced daily, bi-weekly, monthly, or even every six months. Soft contacts have water that helps moisturize the eyes, so they must be soaked in contact lens solution to prevent them from drying.
Meanwhile, RGP contact lenses are harder, smaller, and more durable than soft contacts, but they still allow more oxygen to pass through to ensure eye health. These lenses are used to correct irregularly shaped eyes, altering the shape of the cornea to offer clearer vision and correct short-sightedness. Since they are more durable than soft contacts, RGP contact lenses are usually replaced every six or 12 months, depending on the brand and prescription. Ultimately, an eye care professional will determine which contact lens type best suits your needs.
While contact lenses are a common vision correction tool, modern tech advancements have created contacts that go beyond mere vision correction. Here’s what you need to know:
Recent developments
Today, tech developments in the eyewear industry have given birth to the revolutionary Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, which can display and integrate digital information into your real-world view with the help of augmented reality. These glasses can be used hands-free to get directions, check phone notifications, and much more.
Similarly, smart contacts like wireless measuring contact lenses (WMCL) are also in development. These lenses also have hands-free capabilities, such as monitoring important information such as intraocular pressure (IOP), a crucial indicator of eye health. The WMCL can provide enhanced quantitative IOP measurement for early detection and treatment of eye conditions like glaucoma. Through smart contacts, eye doctors will be able to effectively monitor eye pressure changes that could indicate early signs of an ocular issue.
Advancements in contact lens design have also made it possible to provide clearer images. This year, inventor Laurent Galinier developed spiral contacts that provide a clearer and more detailed picture of objects. The contact lenses’ spiral shape can alter the path that the light rays pass through, creating optical vortices that twist light rays and provide multifocal enhanced images of objects. These spiral lenses provide clearer and more detailed pictures even under dim light conditions.
Aside from smart and spiral contact lenses, special-tinted contacts have also been developed to help people with color blindness. In 2021, researchers at ACS Nano developed color blindness-correcting contacts by infusing gold nanoparticles with contact lenses to improve contrasts of red and green colors. Since gold nanocomposites are known to scatter light, the lenses were able to filter out problematic colors while enhancing red-green color contrasts for individuals who have difficulty seeing those shades.
Contact lenses are a popular vision correction tool that helps people with compromised ocular health live better, but they can also do much more. With recent game-changing advancements in contact lens technology, more people can enjoy clear-cut vision.