Patent Application
20050022846
The invention involves the process of producing a thoroughly rinsed contact lens when placed upon the eye with no intervening hand contact.
The conventional process of placing a contact lens on the eye has been removing the contact lens from the contact lens solution and placing the outside curvature of the contact lens on a tip of a finger, removing some of the contact lens solution from between the contact lens and finger, and seating the lens on the eye wherein the lens is released from the finger and remains seated on the eye. The purpose of the removal of moisture from the finger is to reduce the surface tension between the finger and contact lens sufficiently that the contact lens will remain on the eye. The above procedure has been followed by the contact user as well as the optometrist when placing his patient's lens. However clean the fingers may be, the contact lens will have observable particles on its surface resulting from contact with the fingers. These particles are still present on the contact lens when the lens is seated on the eye. Particles plus the semi-dried outer surface of the lens produce the effect of a foreign object on the eye. Great efforts have been expended by the contact lens industry to produce better sterilizing solutions, but no efforts have addressed the particles and oils which are transferred from fingers to the contact lens just prior to lens placement on the eye.
The invention provides a process which allows the contact lens to be free of visible impurities resulting from hand contact with the lens. In a preferred embodiment the contact lens is removed from the contact lens solution, oriented wherein the inner curvature of the contact lens is the eye-contacting surface, gripped at a folded outer edge by a thumb and finger, held vertically with the free edge downward, and dipped in the contact lens solution until the lens is visibly clear. The outer curvature of the free edge area of the lens is then placed on the conical surface of a lens placement instrument and the handheld portion of the lens is then vertically dipped into the lens solution until the contact lens appears clear. The lens is then placed on the eye and the air bulb of the lens placement instrument is squeezed which forces air on the outer curvature of lens and releases the lens on the eyeball. The result is the lens feels like a drop of water on the eyeball, not a foreign object. There is now excess water on the eyeball which is dissipated by holding the upper eyelid open, looking straight ahead, and moving the head back-and-forth and up-and-down. The effect of this process of placing a rinsed and fully wet contact lens on the eye enhances the initial comfort of the lens and increases the symptom-free wear time.
The invention comprises a process of rinsing a contact lens 7 until it is free of visible debris and subsequently placing and releasing the lens on the eye without any intervening finger contact with the lens. In a preferred embodiment contact a lens placement instrument 1 is used, as shown in
The contact lens 7 is removed from the lens case and is correctly oriented for placement, as in
In another embodiment of the invention a contact lens placement instrument 1 may be used which does not contain the air bulb 6. The contact lens holder 2 may be made from silicone, metal, plastic, polyurethane, and other materials which would be relatively inert and can be shaped to hold the contact lens 7 by its outer curvature. The instrument may be curved the shape of the tip of a finger.
The object of the invention is not to limit the method to a specific tool, but to include equivalent methods and instruments which facilitate placing a contact lens 7 on the eye without intervening finger contact with the contact lens.
