The concept of contact lenses as a visual aid began to appear as an incredible idea in 1508.
Much like many of today’s innovative and forward-thinking ideas, this was the invention of the inventor”the boss,” Leonardo Da Vinci.
Da Vinci identified the method of altering the power of the cornea directly by submerging one’s head in a water bowl or wearing a type of glass hemisphere filled with water over the eyes.
But, it proved to be extremely unpractical, as were the majority of Da Vinci’s inventions (e.g., the helicopter) due to the state of mind in which he was living in.
Also Read: Facts about Call Of Duty
Facts about Contact Lenses
In 1636 French Philosopher Rene Descartes came up with the concept for a glass tubing stuffed with liquid and placed directly on the cornea.
The protruding part of this tube was designed to comprise glass and then shaped to ensure a clear vision.
It was not practical because the awkward size and shape hindered the wearer from blinking.
Now, fast forward until 1887 Germany in which German glassblower F.E. Muller created the first eye cover that can be visible and able to be tolerated from the person wearing it.
The following year, in 1888, German eye doctor Adolf Fick who was based on Muller’s research, made his first contact lenses using blow-blown glass.
While uncomfortable and only used for a couple of hours at a time, it was worn across the entire eye; it is the ultimate technological breakthrough in contact lenses.
Also Read: Red Light Therapy Facts & Benefits for Face
In 1949 the first contact cornea lens was created and quickly became popular, becoming an object of popular appeal by the 1960s.
Aspects of Modern Day Contact Lenses.
Today’s contact lenses function by resting upon the cornea, which is the clear outer layer of the eye.
It is held position principally by adhering on the film of tear, which is found on the face and, in addition, by the pressure that is caused by the eyelids blinking.
The wearer blinks, and their eyelid moves across the lens’s surface and moves slightly.
This motion lets the wearer’s tears give the needed lubrication to the cornea. Additionally, it helps eliminate any dirt between the cornea and the contact lens.
Also Read: Keystone XL Pipeline Facts & Myth
However, due to minor and sometimes severe optical issues, contact lenses can cause any type of lenses can qualify as a medical device.
Contact lenses are medically prescribed and typically used to correct vision problems like hyperopia, astigmatism, and reading difficulties.
This is because the light is not properly directed towards the retina, which causes vision to blur or be diminished.
When placed on the cornea, the contact lens acts as the first optical element for the eye to pick up light.
These optics work in conjunction with the eye’s optics to concentrate light, resulting in clear vision.
Due to the ways contacts, lenses can drastically alter the look of the eyes of a person; they are widely used in the TV and Film industry.
Some of the most famous contacts lenses used in films are eye-colored eyes in the blood of Rage Virus victims in 28 Days/Weeks Later.
Contact lens lenses are also featured frequently throughout the Star Wars saga of films and during some of the Riddick movies (Pitch Black Chronicles of Riddick).
Contact lenses were also utilized to provide the protagonists in the film Avatar with various colored eyes.
One possibility for the future of contact lenses could be bionic contact lenses. This is similar to the one used in Google Glasses.
The specialized contact lens is in research and development. It is being tested as prototypes within Seattle, America.
It comprises organic substances that are safe for human use and has electronic circuits constructed from a thin layer of metal just a few nanometers thick.
The device can currently function within a few centimeters from the battery’s wireless base and has only a single-pixel display.
This is, however, an additional step in the development of contact lens technology that could use Da Vinci’s basic concept and propel it in the direction of mass media.
It’s possible that if you take ten years (most probably less due to the speed at which technology is evolving in the present) and we’ll read The Fact Site through our bionic lenses!
