The Evolution of Contact Lenses: From da Vinci to Google’s Smart Lenses
This may come as a surprise, but contact lenses have a long history with roots in the Renaissance. Unlike the cheap contact lenses you can find today on websites like Lens.com, the original lenses were much less prevalent making them more expensive, and were much more painful to wear since they didn’t have the benefit of modern technology. The idea for contact lenses began with a spark of inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci when he noticed that after placing a man’s face in water he was able to see more clearly. The refractive quality of water helped to sharpen his peripheral vision as well, so this experiment provided the foundation for further research into what would become contact lenses over 300 years later.
Herschel & Fick
The next advancement would not take place until the 19th century when Sir John Herschel, an English astronomer and physicist, proposed taking a mould of the human eye. This mold would allow for lenses to be placed directly and snugly onto the exterior of the eye, but only once anesthesia became available allowing this extremely sensitive area to be fitted. This development coupled with da Vinci’s initial idea led to the first glass contact lens.
Whether it was German glassblower F.A. Muller or Swiss physician Adolf Fick, the glass lens that was first created was cumbersome and covered the entire eye including the white portion, the sclera. Due to the design, this lens could only be worn for a few hours. It did not allow for any breathability since oxygen and natural tears were not able to moisten and refresh the eye, which is why these contact lenses could only be inserted for short periods of time.
Developments in contact lenses went from glass lenses with full eye coverage to a more lightweight combination of glass and plastic, and then to lenses that are similar to today’s gas-permeable contacts without actually allowing oxygen to pass over the eye. However, these lenses were completely plastic, designed to be placed just over the cornea, and were able to move slightly with each blink to allow for oxygen to reach the eye – a huge advancement from where contact lenses first began.
Hydrogel Contacts & Google
The hydrogel soft contact lenses were the next major advancement to push the popularity of contacts and make them a viable option for vision correction. Even now, this type of lens provides more comfort making it the more common choice for eye doctors to prescribe. The next major breakthrough for contacts is Google’s Smart Lenses. This new type of lens is aimed to help diabetics in particular since they are designed with a chip and glucose sensor embedded within the contact itself. This sensor will constantly measure the blood sugar level in an individual’s tears rather than requiring them to monitor their level by continuously pricking their fingers each day. This development really pushes contact lenses into the future and is a gigantic leap forward from da Vinci’s initial spark of inspiration.
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