Dr. Ralph Stone is one of the foremost experts on contact lens care product design and formulation.  A winner of the prestigious Donald Korb Award from the American Optometric Association, Contact Lens & Cornea Section, he is often referred to as the father of modern contact lens care. Dr. Stone was responsible for the design of ReNu, Complete as well as OptiFree products.

In this important video, Dr. Stone discusses FDA and ISO Standards Committee disinfection requirements for contact lens care products.  Disinfection efficacy is equated to patient safety.  Of special interest is his in-depth discussion of the additional requirements needed for no-rub approval.  

Dr. Loretta Szczotka-Flynn is an Associate Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology and visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and a leading US contact lens scientist and clinician. She reports on her breakthrough research on corneal infiltrates in low and high Dk contact lens materials. 

This Ciba Vision sponsored study explored risk for cornea infiltrative events in 30 day continuous wear patients.  The incidence of infiltrates increased over the three years of the study, peaking at 10% after 3 years.  Clinically significant infiltrates peaked at 3% after 2 and 3 years.

Carolyn Begley is one of the foremost researchers examing dry eye, particularlly dry eye among contact lens wearers. Dryness is a primary complaint of contact lens wearers. In contrast non-contact lens wearers complain of discomfort and irritation. Dr. Begley also discusses the significant impact of dryness on visual acuity in contact lens wearers.

Dr. Suzanne Fleiszig of the University of California at Berkley is a leading expert on the genesis of microbial keratitis in contact lens wear. Her pioneering work on pseudomonas infection dramatically broadened our understanding of this ubiquitious pathogen.  This brilliant presentation explores corneal defenses against infection, with particular focus on the richness and complexity of corneal defenses.

Dr. Loretta Szczotka-Flynn is an Associate Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology and visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and a leading US contact lens scientist and clinician. She reports on her breakthrough research on corneal infiltrates in low and high Dk contact lens materials. 

Performing a meta-analysis of published data she determined that the risk of an infiltrative event is approximately 7 per 100 for low Dk extended wear and about 14 per 100 silicone hydrogel wearers per year.

Somewhat surprising was the doubled risk for infiltrative events in higher Dk silicone hydrogel wearers.  However these results are not mirrored by a reported increase in infection and may be due to the longer wearing period of silicone hydrogel lenses.

With the recall of two leading lens care products in 2006 and 2007 interest in contact lens microbial keratitis has never been greater Dr. Fiona Stapleton presents an intriguing report of a large epidemiologcal study conducted in Australia and the UK. A variety of risk factors associated with contact lens related MK are explored.

Various combinations of contact lenses and care systems have been shown to produce uniquely different corneal staining patterns.  Dr. Andrasko has developed a standardized method of analyzing the cornea's physiological response to these distinctive groupings.  His on-going research demonstrates that those combinations that produce the greatest amount of staining typically cause the greatest amount of patient discomfort.

 

Lyndon Jones was among the early pioneers first describing corneal staining associated with contact lens care products.  Dr. Jones is a Professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada and is a well-respected researcher in the area of contact lenses and related corneal science.

He describes his early work exploring corneal staining PHMB and group II contact lens materials. This research was the first to link preservatives and materials with corneal staining.  Dr. Jones also describes his landmark study regarding staining with silicone hydrogel materials and MPS preservatives which led to intense focus on this area.

Key points to keep in mind is that solution related staining is often asymptomatic, material and formulation dependent and, to some extent, patient dependent.

Dr. Jerry Paugh from SCCO's Center for Vision Research has pioneered the use of flurophotometry as a measure of corneal permeability. Here he discusses the latest data from his ongoing work exploring contact lens solution related changes in corneal epitheliam barrier function in relation to contact lens materials and lens care products.  His work has revealed dramatic increases in permeability linked to PHMB preserved care products and silicone hydrogel materials.

Dr. Renee Garofalo serves as Associate Director of Research and Development at Alcon R&D.  She describes her pioneering work in preservative uptake and release – specifically how lenses and solutions interact and how the resultant uptake and release of disinfectant impacts corneal integrity in the lens wearer.

Her work uncovered compelling evidence that corneal staining is a time and material and solution dependent phenomenon.  This allowed prediction of peak staining times for each combination.  The consequences of this have been substantial both for clinicians as well as in the design and testing of new lens car products.

Future directions for study include investigation of inflammatory consequences of corneal disturbance, the impact of corneal compromise on barrier function and the interrelation between lens related surface damage and dry eye.

Indian University's Dr. Carolyn Begley presents interesting data on blink rate among contact lens wearers. Blink rate actually increases signficantly with contact lens wear.  Possible reasons and contributing factors are explored.