Those who wear two weekly or monthly contact lenses need to remember about several important things connected with the maintenance of their lenses. However, as study after study reveal, many patients have problems following the instructions provided by eye care practitioners. According to some sources, replacing contact lens solutions is among the things that are neglected most often.

As a contact lens expert has recently warned, daily replacement of lens care solution is crucial for maintaining proper hygiene and preventing serious complications. Dr Saroj Sahdev, the chair of the department of ophthalmology at KEM Hospital, stated that all patients wearing contact lenses requiring them to use a lens care solution need to do that appropriately. In particular, Dr Sahdev added, changing the contact lens solution daily is of vital importance for problem-free contact lens wear.

In his opinion, the studies revealing that some patients wait for up to a week before changing their solutions show that doctors and optometrists should do all they can to educate their patients and customers.

Recently, industry experts have been concentrating on the problem of maintaining proper hygiene and taking care of contact lenses in a way that allows prevention of serious complications.

One of the issues that have been under discussion is the best method of cleaning contact lenses. In order to find out whether the ones that are recommended by contact lens manufacturers are effective, researchers from Australia designed a special study.

According to the results of the study (which have been published in Optometry and Vision Science, the journal issued by the American Academy of Optometry), the ‘rub and rinse’ technique allows us to remove dangerous microbes most effectively.

The recommended cleaning regimen includes rubbing and rinsing lenses with a lens care solution (with disinfecting properties) for several seconds. Subsequently, the lenses should be inserted in a case containing fresh solution (it should be replaced every day), which will prevent bacteria from forming a deposit on the surface of the lenses.

Fitting is the crucial stage of contact lenses wear; if a patient is not properly fitted with their contact lenses, a number of major problems are likely to appear, including corneal scratching and serious infection.

In order to facilitate the process, a manufacturer of contact lenses and related products, CooperVision, has developed a new fitting method. This new method, according to the company, will make contact lens fitting easier for both patients and eye care professionals.

The enhanced, “streamlined” technique is supposed to provide contact lens wearers with a perfect combination of comfort, health and ease, while the eye care practitioner’s task will be simpler and less time-consuming.

CooperVision’s Vice President of Global Professional Relations, Richard Clompus, stated that the new fitting technique is a result of the work the company did while developing Biofinity Multifocal contact lenses in collaboration with eye care professionals. This, according to Clompus, gave the company a great deal of information about contact lens users and the services that eye care practitioners provide for them, resulting in constantly improved products.

Numerous ophthalmic diseases are treated with eye drops, which seem to be quite effective, but they also cause several problems. First of all, as Daniel Kohane (an anaesthesiology professor and the Director of the Laboratory for Biomaterials and Drug Delivery at the Children’s Hospital in Boston) suggests, not all of the active ingredients of the eye drops reach their destination, which is exacerbated by the fact that patient compliance (missing doses, irregular administration) is a major problem. What is more, contact lenses wearers often have difficulty taking eye drops, as most of them require removing lenses before their application.

In order to solve these problems, Daniel Kohane is developing a new kind of contact lenses, which will – if his work yields positive results – be able to release medications into the eye without the need to use eye drops.

Experts believe that such lenses will be perfect for the treatment of many chronic diseases, such as glaucoma, which requires regular administration of intraocular-pressure reducing eye drops.

There is more and more news about the development of smart contact lenses. Numerous companies and research centres seem to be working on contacts that would be more than just a means of vision correction, offering access to the internet, displaying useful information, monitoring a person’s health parameters.

Recently, Sony’s Vice President, Mike Hocking, shared his knowledge and opinions on the matter. According to him, Sony is constantly trying to find new methods of making gamers more immersed in the world of the games they play. This means getting closer to virtual reality, which is the ultimate goal for all manufacturers of gaming hardware and software.

Hocking, attending a conference in London, stated that it is possible that contact lenses offering virtual-reality experience may become available on the market in the near future. In his opinion, the most exciting things (such as contact lenses with sensors and cameras) are currently developed by R&D departments and we might see the results of the research quite soon.