It seems like an impossible task to go to bed with an eyesight problem and then wake up with crystal clear vision. You’d want to pinch yourself just to check whether you weren’t still dreaming. A Spanish optometrist now says this is possible after patenting contact lenses that can correct vision problems whilst you sleep, eliminating the need for invasive surgery.
Jaume Paune’s contact lenses work for vision problems that have been caused by a change in the curvature of the cornea. This can cause myopia (short sightedness) or hyperopia (long sightedness) and stigmatism. The contact lenses operate on the same principle as corneal reshaping surgery which is sometimes used to fix these vision defects.
For example, laser surgery removes tissue from the cornea, flattening it to help the eye to focus light. Alternatives include intraocular lens insertion, where an artificial lens is inserted in front of your own. However, this is a relatively new treatment and it is generally recommended for those unable to wear glasses or with severe myopia. Deformation of the cornea is different from person to person and reshaping it is a precise and delicate surgical procedure for long-term results.
Paune’s system involves designing a pair of rigid, gas-permeable contact lenses to fit an individual patient to match their vision problem, a process known as orthokeratology. During the night whilst you sleep the corrective contact lenses temporarily reshape the cornea by pressuring the film coating on the outside of the cornea.
By changing its shape by only about half the width of a human hair, vision is corrected and by the morning the patient can view perfectly. However, this is only a short-term fix lasting the duration of the day; the patient will have to repeat the process nightly.
For the moment it is hard to say how popular these corrective contact lenses will be. On the one hand, the system is costly with patients paying over £1000 up front for the custom-fit lenses and an additional £500 annually to replace them thereafter.
On the other hand, it could provide patients with a fix to their vision problems without the inconvenience of having to undergo laser surgery. It is recommended that contact lens users still visit their opticians on a regular basis, as corrective lenses may need to have their strength changed from time to time.