Femtosecond laser micromachining of a contact lens and a contact lens manufactured thereby

Abstract

A method of providing a feature on a contact lens including applying a femtosecond laser beam to ablate at least a portion of the contact lens to provide the feature on the contact lens. In one embodiment, the femtosecond laser beam has a pulse width between 10x10<-15> seconds and 200x10<-15> seconds, and has a wavelength between 100 nm and 1500 nm. A contact lens is also provided including at least one fenestration fluidically connecting the anterior surface and the posterior surface, the fenestration being formed using a femtosecond laser in a manner that areas surrounding the fenestration are substantially free of heat damage.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a method of making contact lenses. In particular, the present invention relates to a method of laser micromachining contact lenses to provide structural features thereon. Furthermore, the invention relates to a contact lens produced according to the method. Background technique [0002] In recent years, contact lenses have been widely used to correct vision. A variety of contact lenses are available to consumers, including daily and extended wear soft contact lenses, as well as rigid contact lenses. Contact lenses include a lens body having an anterior surface and a posterior surface that contacts the surface of the eye. It is also known to provide contact lenses with fenestrations. These fenestrations define openings that extend through the lens body to provide passage for fresh oxygenated tears to flow to the surface of the eye, thereby enhancing the comfort of the contact lens wearer. [0003] One example of a c...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

These sharp edges, burrs, or particles of removed material can cause discomfort to the contact lens wearer

However, while excimer lasers are superior to conventional methods, they have been found to be unsuitable for setting apertures

Specifically, even when the excimer laser disclosed by Seden et al. was used to place apertures in a contact lens, minor heat-related damage to the surrounding area of ​​the contact lens resulted in negatively affecting the performance of the contact lens.

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