by Joel Harrison
6. August 2010 13:25
Keratoconus, a degenerative disease in which a person’s cornea gradually becomes thin, bulges, and eventually starts to resemble a cone, affects – according to different studies – from 4 to 600 people per 100,000 population. It reduces visual acuity, causes patients to see multiple images and may lead to corneal scarring.
However, individuals suffering from keratoconus may lead normal lives thanks to special contact lenses. ClearKone lenses, produced by SynergEyes, deal with the disease in a novel way, allowing more keratoconus patients to see clearly. They do not rest on the central part of the surface of the eye, vaulting over the main irregularities instead; the optics are thus over the centre of the eye’s visual axis, no matter where the cone disturbing the patient’s vision is located.
The manufacturer stresses that ClearKone lenses will even help individuals with advanced central cones, decentred and oval cones. They are produced with the use of the hybrid technology, which means that though the rigid core of the lens provides appropriate correction and resists the tendency to conform to the conical shape of the cornea, exhibited by soft contact lenses, it provides appropriate comfort throughout the day.