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“This seemed to work very well and may be why we had far less trouble than some other practitioners.” Dr. de Carle sold the rights to the technology, which was eventually acquired by CooperVision.The Permalens was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1975 and became the first extended-wear lens approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1981, with a 30-day extended-wear indication. It helped Dr. de Carle build one of the largest extended-wear practices in the world, at a time when few people [ CONTACT LENS CARE SYSTEMS ] continued from page 12to their polymer properties, making it easier to test new lens care products for compatibility.In the early 1990s, Dr. Stone and Mary Mowrey-McKee, Ph.D., developed the Complete line of products for Wesley-Jessen (later marketed by Allergan and then AMO). After developing Complete, Dr. Stone went to Alcon, where he worked on novel liquid enzyme cleaners and other products, including the fourth-generation preservative Aldox, a key ingredient in the OptiFree multipurpose solutions.Multipurpose solutions have been overwhelmingly popular for their convenience and ease of use. But, the recall of two major brands (AMO’s Complete MoisturePlus and B&L’s ReNu with MoistureLoc) has reinforced the importance of the clinician in teaching lens wearers about16 | proper care and compliance with cleaning regimens. Another challenge for the lens care industry is thegrowing dominance of silicone hydrogel lenses, which so farhave defied easy classification according to the system devised earlier for hydrogel lenses. “At this point, care systems may be lagging a little behind lens development,” said Dr. Stone. “SiHy lenses are certainly forcing us to re-think the way we look at care products.”From the quest to understand the oxygen needs of the cornea, through tremendous efforts of dozens of individuals to improve the materials, design and fitting of contact lenses, and the improvements in care systems, the contact lens field has edged ever closer to its ideal of successful, healthy contact lens wear for all who want to wear lenses. Modern contact lenses have come a long way from the days of the glass vial HEMA hydrogel lenses that dominated the market in the 1970s. Who knows what exciting innovations the future will bring. But, it’s a given that industry and clinicians will continue to build on the tremendous progress of the past few decades.1984Drs. Holden and Mertz publish landmark papers that establish standards for the minimum oxygen requirements to avoid corneal edema.were willing to fit these lenses.Many of his patients would wear the lenses for three months continuously, returning to his office to have their old lenses replaced with new ones. “I still think we had the right idea,” Dr. de Carle said. “Many patients don’t like to handle the lenses or touch their eyes.
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