High performance selective light wavelength filtering providing improved contrast sensitivity

Abstract

The present invention relates to ophthalmic systems and coatings comprising a selective light wavelength filter, wherein said selective filter provides improved contrast sensitivity.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]The present application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 933,069, filed Oct. 31, 2007, which claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 761,892 filed Jun. 12, 2007, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 378,317 filed Mar. 20, 2006 and which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 812,628 filed Jun. 12, 2006. U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 933,069 also claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11 / 892,461 filed Aug. 23, 2007, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 839,432 filed Aug. 23, 2006, U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 841,502 filed Sep. 1, 2006, and U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 861,247 filed Nov. 28, 2006. U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 933,069 also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application 60 / 978,175 filed Oct. 8, 2007. All of these applications are entirely incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]1. Field of the I...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0036]According to the present invention, ophthalmic systems and coatings are described comprising a selective light wavelength filter, wherein said selective filter provides improved contrast sensitivity.

Problems solved by technology

The shorter wavelengths pose the greatest hazard because they inversely contain more energy.

Exposure to these wavelengths has been called the blue light hazard because these wavelengths are perceived as blue by the human eye.

In eyes without an intraocular lens (aphakic eyes), light with wavelengths shorter than 400 nm can cause damage.

In phakic eyes, this light is absorbed by the intraocular lens and therefore does not contribute to retinal photo toxicity; however it can cause optical degradation of the lens or cataracts.

This premature reversal increases the risk of oxidative damage and is believed to lead to the buildup of the pigment lipofuscin in the retina.

It is believed that the drusen then further interferes with the normal physiology / metabolic activity which allows for the proper nutrients to get to the photoreceptors thus contributing to age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Drusen hinders or block the RPE layer from providing the proper nutrients to the photoreceptors, which leads to damage or even death of these cells.

To further complicate this process, it appears that when lipofuscin absorbs blue light in high quantities it becomes toxic, causing further damage and / or death of the RPE cells.

A2E has been shown to be maximally excited by blue light; the photochemical events resulting from such excitation can lead to cell death.

1) Waste buildup occurs within the pigment epithelial level starting from infancy through out life.

2) Retinal metabolic activity and ability to deal with this waste typically diminish with age.

3) The macula pigment typically decreases as one ages, thus filtering out less blue light.

4) Blue light causes the lipofuscin to become toxic. The resulting toxicity damages pigment epithelial cells.

Such artificial sources of light hazard may also cause eye damage.

Balancing the range and amount of blocked blue light may be difficult, as blocking and / or inhibiting blue light affects color balance, color vision if one looks through the optical device, and the color in which the optical device is perceived.

While this works well for shooting glasses, it would be unacceptable for many ophthalmic applications.

In particular, such ophthalmic systems may be cosmetically unappealing because of a yellow or amber tint that is produced in lenses by blue blocking.

To many people, the appearance of this yellow or amber tint may be undesirable cosmetically.

Moreover, the tint may interfere with the normal color perception of a lens user, making it difficult, for example, to correctly perceive the color of a traffic light or sign.

However, while this technique may reduce yellow in a blue blocked lens, intermixing of the dyes may reduce the effectiveness of the blue blocking by allowing more of the blue light spectrum through.

Moreover, these conventional techniques undesirably reduce the overall transmission of light wavelengths other than blue light wavelengths.

This unwanted reduction may in turn result in reduced visual acuity for a lens user.

Another problem with conventional blue-blocking is that it can degrade night vision.

Such blocking may be undesirable, since as the edge of the long-pass filter is shifted to longer wavelengths, dilation of the pupil acts to increase the total flux.

As previously described, this can degrade scotopic sensitivity and increase color distortion.

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