CooperVision Research Advances Understanding of Contact Lens Comfort at ARVO 2022
Wednesday, May 11 2022 | 14 h 34 min | News
CooperVision revealed findings from multiple studies that advance scientific understanding of contact lens comfort factors during the 2022 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) meeting. The annual event ran from May 1-4 in Denver.
Comfort remains the key factor in maintaining contact lens satisfaction among patients. While numerous product developments have significantly improved the wearing experience over the last few decades, comfort considerations and improvement continue to be of substantial interest to eye care professionals and consumers.
Two of the works focus on helping protect the ocular surface from hyperosmolarity of the tear film, which has particular relevance for contact lens wearers who are symptomatic, especially those with dryness. Conducted with the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of California, Berkeley, the research team designed and employed a novel model to quantify a non-measurable yet critical factor: tear film osmolarity behind a contact lens.
“We concluded that contact lens materials with low salt diffusivity are better at protecting the cornea from hyperosmolarity and that osmolarity behind a contact lens reaches a steady state within the first hour. Our findings also illustrate that midday lens removal and reinsertion alone cannot prevent post-lens tear film hyperosmolarity,” said Cheng-Chun Peng, a Senior Scientist at CooperVision who co-authored the ARVO-delivered paper and poster.
“If tear film break-up on the cornea is believed to cause discomfort, contact lenses could theoretically help protect the ocular surface from osmolarity spikes. While pre-lens tear film hyperosmolarity is primarily due to evaporation, little is known about salt accumulation within and behind a contact lens. A better understanding of this factor could lead to substantial gains in future lens innovations and patient care.”
Additional CooperVision comfort science being presented at ARVO 2022 includes research regarding corneal sensitivity changes in symptomatic neophyte contact lens wearers, an evaluation of discomfort-associated conjunctival epithelial cell gene expression, and preliminary results from the Neurosensory Abnormalities in Ocular Surface Disease study. Those projects were conducted in conjunction with Indiana University, Universidad de Valladolid, and Tufts Medical Center, respectively.
CooperVision’s additional ARVO 2022 research presentations, including advancements in myopia management and other contact lens topics, can be viewed at arvo.org/annual-meeting/.
Click HERE for the full press release.
