by Joel Harrison
25. August 2010 19:04
Conventional contact lenses, also called corneal lenses, help the vast majority of patients to achieve 20/20 vision without any problems. However, there are conditions – such as keratoconus – in which they often fail. Soft lenses conform to the shape of the cornea, while rigid ones rub against and irritate the surface of the eye.
Matt Spears was a patient with such problems. His vision was 20/400 and he was legally blind. Fortunately, he visited the office of Brian Armitage, a doctor of optometry. He fitted him with a pair of scleral lenses, and Spears’ vision improved astonishingly.
Scleral lenses, as the name suggests, cover the sclera of the eye, which also means that they are much bigger than conventional contact lenses. In spite of that, they are very comfortable because they vault over the cornea and are filled with a liquid before they are inserted in a person’s eyes.
Dr Armitage had been Vistakon’s director of clinical research for 16 years before he decided to open a private practice.
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