Apparatus and methods for controlling axial growth with an ocular lens

• US 10,429,670 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2015
• Issued: 10/01/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Menicon Singapore Pte Ltd. (Menicon Company Limited)
• Original Assignee: Menicon Singapore Pte Ltd. (Menicon Company Limited)
• Inventors: Newman, Stephen D.
• Primary Examiner(s): King, George G
• Application Number:
  US15/127,532
• Publication Number:
  US 20170184875A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,652 Days
• Field of Search: 35115912, 35115915, 35115917, 35115935, 35115945
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/1602 Corrective lenses for use in addition to the natural lenses of the eyes or for pseudo-phakic eyes
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 33/3842 Manufacturing moulds, e.g. shaping the mould surface by machining
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00115 made by rotational casting
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00125 Auxiliary operations, e.g. removing oxygen from the mould, conveying moulds from a storage to the production line in an inert atmosphere
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00144 wherein the lens material is not fully polymerized, e.g. by leaving an unpolymerized volume
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00326 having particular surface properties, e.g. a micropattern
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/0048 Moulds for lenses moulds for plastic articles in general B29C33/00
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/0073 Optical laminates
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2083/00 Use of polymers having silicon, with or without sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, or carbon only, in the main chain, as moulding material
• CPC Class Codes: B29K 2105/0061 Gel or sol
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2011/0041 Contact lenses
• CPC Class Codes: B29L 2031/757 Moulds, cores, dies
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 10/00 Processes of additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/16 Laminated or compound lenses
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/20 Diffractive and Fresnel lenses or lens portions
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/24 Myopia progression prevention
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/022 Ophthalmic lenses having special refractive features achieved by special materials or material structures G02C7/049 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/041 bifocal; multifocal
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/049 Contact lenses having special fitting or structural features achieved by special materials or material structures

Abstract

One embodiment of an ocular lens includes a lens body configured to contact an eye where the lens body has an optic zone shaped to direct central light towards a central focal point of a central region of a retina of the eye. At least one optic feature of the lens body has a characteristic that directs peripheral light off axis into the eye away from the central region of the retina. Another embodiment of an ocular lens has at least one isolated feature of the lens body that has a characteristic of directing peripheral light off axis into the eye away from the central region of the retina. Methods of making contact lenses include forming the features during the manufacturing process.

Claims

1. An ocular lens, comprising:

a lens body, the lens body including an optic zone shaped to direct central light towards a central focal point of a central region of a retina of an eye when disposed relative to the eye, and

a semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature protruding from the lens body defined outside the optic zone on the lens body that directs peripheral light into the eye away from the central region of the retina when the lens body is disposed relative to the eye, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature further causes the peripheral light directed away from the central region of the retina to have a focal point in front of the retina.

2. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is a printed feature.

3. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is formed on an anterior surface of the lens body.

4. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is located in a region outside of the optic zone.

5. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature has a different refractive index than a material of the lens body in the optic zone.

6. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the ocular lens comprises one of a contact lens, a soft contact lens, or a rigid gas permeable contact lens.

7. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the ocular lens comprises an implantable lens.

8. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is configured to direct the peripheral light into a peripheral region of the retina to form a pseudo vision shell.

9. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature comprises a hexagonal shape.

10. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is free from the central light passing through the optic zone, where the optic zone is centered in the ocular lens and the optic zone does not include the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature.

11. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature comprises the same refractive index as a material of the lens body.

12. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is configured to modify an axial growth rate of the eye.

13. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is configured to control a development of myopia.

14. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is configured to prevent a development of myopia.

15. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is one of multiple independent semi-spherical or hexagonal optic features of the ocular lens that further causes the peripheral light directed away from the central region of the retina to have a focal point in front of the retina.

16. The ocular lens of claim 15, wherein at least a subset of the multiple independent optic features are independently tuned to focus light towards different portions of the retina when disposed relative to the eye.

17. The ocular lens of claim 15, wherein at least one of the multiple independent optic features has a different refractive index than another of the multiple independent optic features.

18. The ocular lens of claim 15, wherein at least one of the multiple independent optic features has a different focusing power than another of the multiple independent optic features.

19. The ocular lens of claim 15, wherein at least one of the multiple independent optic features has a different size than another of the multiple independent optic features.

20. The ocular lens of claim 15, wherein the multiple independent semi-spherical or hexagonal optic features have hexagonal shapes and at least one of the multiple independent hexagonally shaped optic features has a different shape than another of the multiple independent hexagonally shaped optic features.

21. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein a field of curvature of the ocular lens is unaffected by the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature.

22. The ocular lens of claim 1, wherein the semi-spherical or hexagonal optic feature is a lenslet.

23. The ocular lens of claim 22, wherein the lenset is a hexagonal lenslet.

24. The ocular lens of claim 22, wherein the lenset is a semi-spherical lenslet.

25. An ocular lens, comprising:

a lens body, the lens body including an optic zone shaped to direct central light towards a central focal point of a central region of a retina of an eye when disposed relative to the eye, and

at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature protruding from the lens body defined outside the optic zone on the lens body that directs peripheral light into the eye away from the central region of the retina when the lens body is disposed relative to the eye, wherein the isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature further causes the peripheral light directed away from the central region of the retina to have a focal point not on the retina.

26. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature is molded onto the anterior profile of the lens body.

27. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature is formed on an anterior surface of the lens body.

28. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature is located in a region outside of the optic zone.

29. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature has a different refractive index than another material of the lens body.

30. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the ocular lens comprises one of a contact lens, a soft contact lens, or a rigid gas permeable contact lens.

31. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the ocular lens comprises an implantable lens.

32. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature focuses peripheral light in front of a peripheral region of the retina.

33. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature focuses peripheral light behind a peripheral region of the retina.

34. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature comprises a hexagonal shape.

35. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature comprises the same refractive index as a material of the lens body.

36. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature is configured to control a development of myopia.

37. The ocular lens of claim 25, wherein the at least one isolated semi-spherical or hexagonal feature is configured to prevent the development of myopia.