CLEAR Report Paper 8: Optics of Contact Lenses 

A new report will give eye care professionals invaluable guidance on optimising contact lens corrections while arming researchers with vital information to help influence future designs.

The paper is the eighth in a series to be released as part of the new Contact Lens Evidence-based Academic Reports (CLEAR) – a global consensus report put together by the BCLA.

Soft or rigid contact lenses have long been utilized to correct spherical and regular or irregular astigmatic refractive errors. More recently, they aim to accomplish even more sophisticated goals.  

This paper reviews the ways in which contact lens optics can be measured and manipulated to compensate for refractive error, optimise retinal image quality, allow the presbyopic user to see at multiple viewing distances, and control how the young eye grows. 

The paper’s first author is Kathryn Richdale OD PhD, with co-authors Ravi Bakaraju BOptom PhD, Mark Bullimore MCOptom PhD, Ian Cox PhD, Paul Gifford PhD MSc BSc(hons) MCOptom, Pete Kollbaum OD PhD, Curt McKenny OD, Steve Newman, Sotiris Plainis MSc PhD and Erin Tomiyama OD MS.

Kathryn Richdale said: “I’m proud to represent such an impressive international group of optics experts. This paper provides a comprehensive and critical review of the state of contact lens optics and will serve as a primary point of reference for students, researchers and clinicians for years to come.”

The paper, titled ‘Contact Lens Evidence-Based Academic Reports: Optics’, will be released as part of a new series of evidence-based guidance available to eye care professionals around the world on all aspects of prescribing and fitting contact lenses as part of a concerted drive to provide the best possible patient care. 

CLEAR, made possible by educational grants from Alcon and CooperVision, will be published in the April 2021 issue of the BCLA journal ‘Contact Lens and Anterior Eye’ and will feature work from panels of globally respected experts. 

It will set the standard to which researchers and eye care professionals will refer for the latest information in the field and will also highlight potential opportunities for future research.