A contact lens which is able to magnify an object by up to 2.8 times with a blink of the eye has been created by researchers in Switzerland.
Researchers developing the device at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) believe that the contact lens, which is currently in its prototype phase, holds “a lot of promise” for patients with low vision and age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
The first of its kind telescopic lens, which was presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual conference in California, could be available in two years.
Researchers confirmed that further work is needed before the lenses can be worn by patients regularly and the current prototype can only be worn for half an hour as the lenses do not allow enough oxygen to pass through into the eye.
Users wearing the contact lens are required to wink their right eye to magnify their view, and their left eye to return to normal vision. A pair of glasses, which accompany the contact lenses, are able to recognize a wink, yet disregard an involuntary blink, to allow the lens to magnify.
Lead researcher, Eric Tremblay, from the EPFL, said: “It’s very important and hard to strike a balance between function and the social costs of wearing any kind of bulky device. There is a strong need for something integrated, and a contact lens is an attractive direction. At this point this is still research, but we are hopeful it will eventually become a real option for people with AMD.”
The prototype is the latest version of the contact lens which was first developed in 2013 as part of research funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Since the initial version, researchers have been updating the lens which, at 1.55mm thick, is larger than traditional contact lenses. “OptometryToday”
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