Credit: Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation

Researchers at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation (TIBI), US, developed a prototype contact lens designed to prevent contact lens-induced dry eye (CLIDE) by facilitating tear flow in response to normal blinking. 

The team said the prototype could avoid the patient noncompliance and drug-accumulation issues associated with treating dry-eye symptoms, such as rewetting drops, gels, lubricants, more frequent lens replacement, or changes in the lens material. The design incorporates microchannels with square cross-sections arrayed in a novel circular pattern on the lens surface, which exploits the curvature of the lens to optimise liquid flow. 

The team noted that their move during development to using a silicone polymer mixture lens mould resulted in high-quality, smooth microchannels, as well as lenses that could be 30 times thinner than previous iterations. “The inventive methods that our team has employed bring a potential solution for millions of people,” said Ali Khademhosseini, TIBI’s director and CEO. “It is the hope that we may extend our efforts to bring this solution to fruition.”