In the world of optometry, a lot has changed over the last decade. While a majority of these changes will have little affect on the average person, there are some obvious benefits to newly created technology. Contact lenses have been around of a long time, but their utility was limited to only helping people with basic problems like being near sighted or far sighted. However, over the last decade, there have been a number of improvements that have expanded the applications of specific types of lenses. Multifocal contact lenses are an excellent example of this.
Unfortunately, like many areas that undergo intense research and development by multiple educational institutions and corporations, people are now seeing a variety of different types of contact lenses which are all designed to solve the same problem. Currently, there are three different primary designs for multifocal contact lenses. They are the concentric bifocal design, alternative image design, and simultaneous image design. The concentric bifocal design has become the most common. The reason for this is simple, they seem to be the most effective. They are designed so that the center of lens help you see up close, while the outside of lens help you see things in the distance. This works well with how we naturally focus. When we look at something close to us, we tend to get tunnel vision, however when we look into the distance, we tend to take in the full picture.
The next type of contact lenses use the alternative image design. They are designed to mimic your traditional bifocal glasses. There are certain zones that help with your distance clarity, while others help you focus on something that is up close. Just like bifocal glasses, the top is for distance and the bottom is for nearby items. However, they have one primary limitation. Because they only have near and far zones, it can be difficult to focus on anything that is in-between. This would mean that you could have problems working at a computer or watching television.
The final option is known as simultaneous image design. Currently, this is the least available option and is still undergoing testing. However, it is important to note that early results have been very promising. They could even become the primary contact lenses for people who need them. The biggest hurdle to overcome is that they are fairly complicated. Essentially, they try to place both near and far lenses in front of your eye at the same time. It is then up to your brain to figure out which image is the best one and which one should be ignored. Fortunately, your brain can adjust to this fairly quickly. Unfortunately, because they are blended so that they only correct "problem areas" of your sight, fitting and creating a tailored set of contact lenses for each person can be difficult.
While there are obviously a number of different multifocal contact lenses to choose from, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The reason that you have so many options is because multiple technologies have been researched simultaneously. Additionally, if this wasn't the case, then only alternative image design contact lenses would be available, and they have proven to be the least efficient. While concentric bifocal design is currently the most popular, there is a good chance that once the creation process is streamlined, simultaneous image design will likely be the superior option in the future.
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