Parabolic contact lens: US Pat. No. 7,682,020

U.S. Patent No. 7,682,020, issued on March 23, 2010 to Natural Focus LLC of Santa Ana, CA, discloses a contact lens designed to reshape the cornea.

According to the patent, as practiced since the 1970′s, orthokeratology is a method which uses a rigid contact lens to exert pressure on selected portions of the cornea to modify its shape, which it retains for a period of time once the contact lens is removed.  A retainer lens is then worn on a part-time basis to prevent the cornea from returning to its former shape.  Since the corneal shape affects how light is refracted through the cornea, this technique seeks to modify the shape of the cornea to focus light onto the retina, thereby correcting the patient’s vision. 

The patent discloses a parabolic contact lens designed to reshape the cornea by epithelium and stromal tissue growth to correct the patient’s vision after the lens has been worn for a sufficient amount of time.  The resulting corrections are described as lasting several days before a retainer lens is required.

Natural Focus’ website touts their proprietary “Corneal Reshaping Therapy” as having advantages over current laser refraction surgical techniques (e.g., LASIK).  I got a smile out of the realization that Natural Focus was lucky enough to receive U.S. Pat. No. 7682020 for their contact lens.