Automatic lens design and manufacturing system

• US 20040246440A1
• Filed: 07/07/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Novartis Ag
• Inventors: Lindacher, Joseph Michael, Andino, Rafael Victor, Morgan, Courtney Flem
• Granted Patent: US 7,111,938 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 351/177
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/1613 having special lens configurations, e.g. multipart lenses; having particular optical properties, e.g. pseudo-accommodative lenses, lenses having aberration corrections, diffractive lenses, lenses for variably absorbing electromagnetic radiation, lenses having variable focus
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00086 methods for matching the anterior surface of the contact lens to the shape of an eyeball
• CPC Class Codes: B29D 11/00942 where the lens material is mounted in a support for mounting onto a cutting device, e.g. a lathe, and where the support is of machinable material, e.g. plastics
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 13/003 Measuring during assembly or fitting of spectacles
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/06 Special ophthalmologic or optometric aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 2202/22 Correction of higher order and chromatic aberrations, wave front measurement and calculation
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/028 Special mathematical design techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/04 Contact lenses for the eyes disinfection or sterilisation of contact lenses A61L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02C 7/047 Contact lens fitting; Contact lenses for orthokeratology; Contact lenses for specially shaped corneae
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/02 CAD in a network environment, e.g. collaborative CAD or distributed simulation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2111/08 Probabilistic or stochastic CAD
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for designing and making a customized ophthalmic lens, such as a contact lens or an intraocular lens, capable of correcting high-order aberrations of an eye. The posterior surface of the customized contact lens is designed to accommodate the corneal topography of an eye. The design of the customized ophthalmic lens is evaluated and optimized in an optimizing routine using a computational model eye that reproduces the aberrations and corneal topography of an eye. The present invention also provides a system and method for characterizing the optical metrology of a customized ophthalmic lens that is designed to correct aberrations of an eye. Furthermore, the present invention provides a business model and method for placing an order for a pair of customized ophthalmic lenses.

Claims

1. A method for designing a customized ophthalmic lens, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) providing a set of characteristic data of an eye of an individual, wherein said set of characteristic data comprises wavefront aberrations of the eye and corneal topography;

(2) creating a computational model eye that reproduces the wavefront aberrations of the eye of the individual, wherein the computational model eye comprises a lens-supporting surface having the corneal topography of the eye of the individual and a model retina having a model fovea comprising a lattice of pixels that represent photoreceptors, wherein the distance between the model fovea and the center of the lens-supporting surface is equal to a visual axial length of the human eye;

(3) designing an optical model lens which is capable of compensating for the wavefront aberrations of the eye, wherein said optical model lens has an anterior surface and an opposite posterior surface;

(4) evaluating the visual performance of said optical model lens with the computational model eye;

(5) obtaining visual performance information of said optical model lens;

(6) modifying the design of said optical model lens on the basis of said visual performance information to improve corrections of the aberrations of the eye, if the visual performance of said optical model lens is not optimal;

(7) repeating steps (4) to (6), if necessary, until the visual performance of said optical model lens is optimal; and

(8) transforming the optimized optical model lens into a set of mechanical parameters for making said customized ophthalmic lens.

4. A method of claim 1, wherein the customized ophthalmic lens is an intraocular lens.

19. A method for producing a customized ophthalmic lens, the method comprising the steps of designing a customized ophthalmic lens according to the method of claim 1 and further comprising the steps of:

(9) converting the set of mechanical parameters for making the lens into control signals that control a computer-controllable manufacturing device; and

(10) producing the lens using the computer controllable manufacturing device.

20. A method of claim 19, wherein the computer controllable manufacturing device is a computer-controllable lathe.

2. A method of claim 1, wherein the customized ophthalmic lens is a contact lens.

3. A method of claim 2, wherein the computational model eye is:

(1) a reduced computational model eye that comprises an optical refractive element having a first optical surface and an opposite second optical surface and the model retina, wherein the first optical surface is the lens supporting surface;

or

(2) an anatomical computational model eye that comprises a model cornea having an anterior surface and an opposite posterior surface, a model crystalline lens, and the model retina, wherein the anterior surface of the model cornea is the lens-supporting surface, wherein the model cornea, the model crystalline lens and the model retina are arranged in a way identical to the arrangement of their corresponding optical elements in the human eye.

5. A method of claim 3, wherein the computational model eye is an anatomical computational model eye that comprises a model cornea having an anterior surface and an opposite posterior surface, a model crystalline lens, and the model retina, wherein the anterior surface of the model cornea is the lens-supporting surface, wherein the model cornea, the model crystalline lens and the model retina are arranged in a way identical to the arrangement of their corresponding optical elements in the human eye.

6. A method of claim 5, wherein the computational model eye further comprises a model pupil which is located between the optical refractive element and the model retina in the reduced computational model eye or between the model cornea and the model crystalline lens in the anatomical model eye, wherein the size of the model pupil is about from 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm and adjustable according to the individual'"'"'s age and/or illumination light intensity.

7. A method of any one of claim 6, wherein the size of the fovea is about 2 mm.

8. A method of any one of claim 7, wherein the lattice of pixels is a hexagonal lattice of pixels with a diameter of about 2.5 micron.

9. A method of claim 8, wherein the posterior surface of said optical model lens accommodates the corneal topography of the eye of the individual.

10. A method of claim 8, wherein the posterior surface of said optical model lens accommodates an averaged corneal topography derived from population studies.

11. A method of claim 9, wherein each of the anterior surface and posterior surface of the optical model lens is quantified by a mathematical description.

12. A method of claim 11, wherein the mathematical description comprises one ore more mathematical functions selected from the group consisting of conic functions, quadric functions, polynomials of any degree, Zernike polynomials, exponential functions, trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, rational functions, Fourier series, and wavelets.

13. A method of claim 12, wherein the mathematical description comprises Zernike polynomials.

14. A method of claim 13, wherein the mathematical description further comprises spline-based mathematical functions.

15. A method of any one of claim, wherein the visual performance information comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of wavefront aberrations, point spread function (PSF), line spread function (LSF), modulation transfer function (MTF), phase transfer function, contrast threshold function, contrast sensitivity function (CFS), bitmap image analysis, ghost image analysis, focal length analysis, and optical power analysis.

16. A method of any one of claim 15, wherein the optical design of said optical model lens is optimized by using a set of aberration coefficients that represent the wavefront aberrations of the eye of the individual as weighted operands in an optical design optimization loop, on the basis of the visual performance information obtained in step 5.

17. A method of any one of claim 15, wherein the optical design of said optical model lens is optimized by using artificial intelligence (Al) programs or neural networks, on the basis of the visual performance information obtained in step 5.

18. A method of claim 17, wherein the step of transforming the optimized optical model lens into a set of mechanical parameters for making said customized ophthalmic lens is performed by translating the design of the optimized optical model lens back and forth between an optical CAD system and a mechanical CAD system using a translation format which allows a receiving system, either optical CAD or mechanical CAD, to construct NURBs or Beizier surfaces of an intended design.

21. A system for designing a customized ophthalmic lens or an ophthalmic lens capable of correcting high order aberrations, the system including a computer system that comprises:

(a) a model eye design module for creating a computational model eye that reproduces aberrations of an eye of an individual, wherein the computational model eye comprises a lens-supporting surface having a corneal topography of the eye of the individual and a model retina having a curvature of the human retina and a model fovea comprising a lattice of pixels that represent photoreceptors, wherein the distance between the model fovea and the center of the lens-supporting surface is equal to a visual axial length of the human eye;

(b) an optical design module for designing an optical model lens to compensate for the wavefront aberrations of the eye of the individual and to accommodate the corneal topography of the eye of the individual or an averaged corneal topography derived from population studies;

(c) a lens-designing optimization module for performing an iterative optimization process comprising (1) determining visual performance information of the optical model lens with the computational model eye, (2) modifying the design of the optical model lens on the basis of said visual performance information to improve corrections of the aberrations of the eye, if the visual performance of said optical model lens is not optimal, and repeating steps (1) and (2), if necessary, until visual performance of a modified design of the optical model lens is optimized; and

(d) a mechanical design module for generating a CAD output file containing parameters for making said customized ophthalmic lens or said ophthalmic lens capable of correcting high order aberrations, based on the optimized optical model lens.

22. A system of claim 21, further comprising a sensor system which can determine the wavefront aberrations and corneal topography of the eye of an individual.

23. A system of claim 22, wherein the computational model eye is:

(1) a reduced computational model eye that comprises an optical refractive element having a first optical surface and an opposite second optical surface and the model retina, wherein the first optical surface is the lens supporting surface;

or

(2) an anatomical computational model eye that comprises a model cornea having an anterior surface and an opposite posterior surface, a model crystalline lens, and the model retina, wherein the anterior surface of the model cornea is the lens-supporting surface, wherein the model cornea, the model crystalline lens and the model retina are arranged in a way identical to the arrangement of their corresponding optical elements in the human eye.

24. A system of claim 23, wherein the computational model eye further comprises a model pupil which is located between the optical refractive element and the model retina in the reduced computational model eye or between the model cornea and the model crystalline lens in the anatomical model eye, wherein the size of the model pupil is about from 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm and adjustable according to the individual'"'"'s age and/or illumination light intensity.

25. A system of any one of claim 24, wherein the size of fovea is about 2 mm and wherein the lattice of pixels is a hexagonal lattice of pixels with a diameter of about 2.5 micron.

26. A system of any one of claim 25, wherein each of the anterior surface and posterior surface of the optical model lens is quantified by a mathematical description.

27. A system of claim 26, wherein the mathematical description comprises one ore more mathematical functions selected from the group consisting of conic functions, quadric functions, polynomials of any degree, Zernike polynomials, exponential functions, trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, rational functions, Fourier series, and wavelets.

28. A system of claim 27, wherein the mathematical description comprises Zernike polynomials.

29. A system of claim 28, wherein the mathematical description further comprises spline-based mathematical functions.

30. A system of claim 29, wherein the visual performance information comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of wavefront aberrations, point spread function (PSF), line spread function (LSF), modulation transfer function (MTF), phase transfer function, contrast threshold function, contrast sensitivity function (CFS), bitmap image analysis, ghost image analysis, focal length analysis, and optical power analysis.

31. A system of claim 30, wherein the optical design of said optical model lens is optimized by using a set of aberration coefficients that represent the wavefront aberrations of an eye as weighted operands in an optical design optimization loop, on the basis of the visual performance information obtained by the lens-designing optimization module.

32. A system of claim 31, wherein the optical design of said optical model lens is optimized by using artificial intelligence (Al) programs or neural networks, on the basis of the visual performance information obtained by the lens-designing optimization module.

33. A system of claim 32, wherein the mechanical design module comprises a means for translating the design of the optimized optical model lens back and forth between an optical CAD system and a mechanical CAD system using a translation format which allows a receiving system, either optical CAD or mechanical CAD, to construct NURBs or Beizier surfaces of an intended design.

34. A system for producing a customized ophthalmic lens, the system comprising a system for designing a customized ophthalmic lens according to claim 21 and a computer-controllable manufacturing device, and further comprising:

(e) a signal module for converting said CAD output file into control signals that control the computer-controllable manufacturing device to produce said customized ophthalmic lens; and

(f) a manufacturing control module for controlling the computer-controllable manufacturing device to produce said customized ophthalmic lens.

35. A system of claim 34, wherein the computer-controllable manufacturing device is a computer-controllable lathe.

36. A method for creating a computational model eye, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) providing a set of characteristic data of an eye of an individual, wherein said set of characteristic data comprises wavefront aberrations and corneal topography data of the eye of the individual;

(2) converting the corneal topography data into a mathematical description representing a first surface of a first refractive optical element, the first optical refractive element having the first surface and an opposite second surface;

(3) designing and optimizing the second surface of the first refractive optical element so that the first refractive optical element, alone or in combination with a second refractive optical element that has a third surface and an opposite fourth surface and an index of refraction distribution, reproduces the wavefront aberrations of the eye;

(4) designing a model retina that has a curvature of the human retina and comprises a model fovea having a lattice of pixels representing photoreceptors; and

(5) arranging the first refractive optical element and the model retina along an optical axis in a way such that the distance between the fovea and the center of the first surface of the first refractive optical element is equal to the visual axial length of the human eye.

37. A method of claim 36, wherein the size of fovea is about 2 mm and wherein the lattice of pixels is a hexagonal lattice of pixels with a diameter of about 2.5 micron.

38. A method of claim 37, wherein each of the first surface and second surface of the first refractive optical element is quantified by a mathematical description.

39. A method of claim 38, wherein the mathematical description comprises one ore more mathematical functions selected from the group consisting of conic functions, quadric functions, polynomials of any degree, Zernike polynomials, exponential functions, trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, rational functions, Fourier series, and wavelets.

40. A method of claim 39, wherein the mathematical description comprises Zernike polynomials.

41. A method of claim 40, wherein the mathematical description further comprises spline-based mathematical functions.

42. A method of claim 41, wherein the computational model eye further comprises a model pupil which is located between the first refractive optical element and the model retina, wherein the size of the model pupil is about from 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm and adjustable according to the individual'"'"'s age and/or illumination light intensity.

43. A method of claim 42, wherein the computational model eye comprises a model crystalline lens as the second refractive optical element and a model corneal as the first refractive optical element, wherein the model crystalline lens is constructed on the basis of the crystalline lens of the human eye so that the model crystalline lens has a power of refraction equal to the power of refraction of the human eye, wherein the model cornea, the model crystalline lens and the model retina are arranged in a way identical to the arrangement of their corresponding elements in the human eye.

44. A method for manufacturing customized contact lenses, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) analyzing eyes of each of the individuals from a population to obtain a set of characteristic data comprising aberrations and corneal topography;

(2) compiling population statistics of aberrations and corneal topographies;

(3) creating a plurality of computational model eyes, each of which generates averaged aberrations representing statistically one of a plurality of nominal segments of the population, wherein each of plurality of computational model eyes comprises a lens-supporting surface having an averaged corneal topography for one of a plurality of nominal segments of the population and a model retina having a model fovea comprising a lattice of pixels that represent photoreceptors, wherein the distance between the model fovea and the center of the lens-supporting surface is equal to a visual axial length of the human eye;

(4) designing a plurality of optical model lenses each of which accommodates the averaged corneal topography of the eyes of one of the plurality of nominal segments of the population and corrects the averaged aberrations of the eyes of one of the plurality of nominal segments of the population;

(5) optimizing optical designs of the plurality of the optical model lenses with one of the plurality of the computational model eyes;

(6) transforming the plurality of the optimized optical model lenses into a plurality of sets of mechanical parameters each for making one contact lens;

(7) creating one stock keeping unit (SKU) for each of each of the contact lenses; and

(8) manufacturing said ophthalmic lenses having a specific stock keeping unit (SKU).

45. A method of claim 44, wherein each of the plurality of the computational model eyes is a reduced computational model eye that comprises an optical refractive element having a first optical surface and an opposite second optical surface and the model retina, wherein the first optical surface is the lens supporting surface.

46. A method of claim 44, wherein each of the plurality of the computational model eyes is an anatomical computational model eye that comprises a model cornea having an anterior surface and an opposite posterior surface, a model crystalline lens, and the model retina, wherein the anterior surface of the model cornea is the lens-supporting surface, wherein the model cornea, the model crystalline lens and the model retina are arranged in a way identical to the arrangement of their corresponding optical elements in the human eye.

47. A method of claim 46, wherein each of the plurality of the computational model eye further comprises a model pupil which is located between the optical refractive element and the model retina, wherein the size of the model pupil is about from 2.0 mm to 8.0 mm and adjustable according to the individual'"'"'s age and/or illumination light intensity.

48. A method of claim 47, wherein the size of fovea is about 2 mm and wherein the lattice of pixels is a hexagonal lattice of pixels with a diameter of about 2.5 micron.

49. A method of claim 48, wherein both the anterior surface and posterior surface of each of the plurality of optical model lenses the optical model lens are quantified by a mathematical description.

50. A method of claim 49, wherein the mathematical description comprises one ore more mathematical functions selected from the group consisting of conic functions, quadric functions, polynomials of any degree, Zernike polynomials, exponential functions, trigonometric functions, hyperbolic functions, rational functions, Fourier series, and wavelets.

51. A method of claim 50, wherein the mathematical description comprises Zernike polynomials.

52. A method of claim 51, wherein the mathematical description further comprises spline-based mathematical functions.

53. A method of claim 52, wherein the optical designs of each of the plurality of the optical model lenses is optimized based on its visual performance information derived from its visual performance evaluation with one of the plurality of the computational model eyes, wherein the visual performance information comprises one or more members selected from the group consisting of wavefront aberrations, point spread function (PSF), line spread function (LSF), modulation transfer function (MTF), phase transfer function, contrast threshold function, contrast sensitivity function (CFS), bitmap image analysis, ghost image analysis, focal length analysis, and optical power analysis.

54. A method of claim 53, wherein the optical design of each of the plurality of the optical model lenses is optimized by using a set of aberration coefficients that represent the averaged aberrations of eyes of one of the plurality of nominal segments of the population as weighted operands in an optical design optimization loop.

55. A method of claim 53, wherein the optical design of each of the plurality of the optical model lenses is optimized by using artificial intelligence (Al) programs or neural networks.

56. A method of claim 55, wherein the step of transforming the plurality of the optimized optical model lenses into a plurality of sets of mechanical parameters each for making a contact lens is performed by translating the design of the optimized optical model lens back and forth between an optical CAD system and a mechanical CAD system using a translation format which allows a receiving system, either optical CAD or mechanical CAD, to construct NURBs or Beizier surfaces of an intended design.

57. A system for characterizing the optical metrology of an ophthalmic lens, the system comprising:

(a) a monochromatic point light source;

(b) a diffraction limited model eye in front of said monochromatic point light source, wherein said model eye has a posterior surface and an opposite anterior surface having an averaged corneal topography of a population;

(c) a lubricating system to simulate a tear film on the anterior surface of the model eye;

(d) an aperture which simulates the human fovea and is located between said light source and said model eye, wherein said simulated fovea is capable of moving along the light path via manual means or via a precision motion control system to null defocus; and

(e) a wavefront sensor in front of said model eye.

58. A system of claim 57, wherein the light source is a laser.

59. A system of claim 58, further comprising an additional aperture to simulate the pupil or iris of the eye, wherein the additional aperture is located along the optical pathway between the wavefront sensor and the refractive optics.

60. A system of claim 59, wherein the ophthalmic lens is a contact lens is mounted on the model eye but separated from the model eye by the tear film between the posterior surface of the contact lens and the anterior surface of the model eye, wherein the model eye has a power of refraction equal to an averaged power of refraction of eyes of a population.

61. A system of claim 59, wherein the ophthalmic lens is an intraocular lens is installed in a position that is between the aperture and the anterior surface of the model eye along the optical axis of the model eye, wherein the model eye has a power of refraction equal to an averaged power of refraction of corneas of a population.

62. A system of claim 61, further comprising a micro-electro-mechanical device (MEM) that can be controlled by a computer system to generate desired wavefront aberrations of the eye which needs to be corrected, wherein the MEM is located in the optical pathway of the metrology system between the wavefront sensor and the model eye.

63. A system of claim 62, wherein the MEM is deformable mirror.

64. A system of claim 63, further comprising a hardware or software means for limiting a region of the ophthalmic lens under test to a specific optical zone.

65. A method for characterizing the optical metrology of an ophthalmic lens, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) determining first wavefront aberrations before the ophthalmic lens is installed in an optical metrology system which comprises;

(a) a monochromatic point light source;

(b) a diffraction limited model eye in front of said light source, wherein said model eye has a posterior surface and an opposite anterior surface having an averaged corneal topography of a population;

(c) a lubricating system to simulate a tear film on the anterior surface of the model eye;

(d) an aperture which simulates the human fovea and is located between said light source and said model eye, wherein said simulated fovea is capable of moving along the light path via manual means or via a precision motion control system to null defocus; and

(e) a wavefront sensor in front of said model eye;

(2) installing said ophthalmic lens in the optical metrology system;

(3) determining second wavefront aberrations derived from the optical metrology system having the ophthalmic lens emplaced therein; and

(3) obtaining third wavefront aberrations by subtracting the first wavefront aberrations from the second wavefront aberrations, wherein the third wavefront aberrations are contributed by the ophthalmic lens.

66. A method of claim 65, wherein the light source is a laser.

67. A method of claim 66, wherein the optical metrology system further comprises an additional aperture to simulate the pupil or iris of the eye, wherein the additional aperture is located along the optical pathway between the wavefront sensor and the refractive optics.

68. A method of claim 67, wherein the ophthalmic lens is a contact lens is mounted on the model eye but separated from the model eye by the tear film between the posterior surface of the contact lens and the anterior surface of the model eye, wherein the model eye has a power of refraction equal to an averaged power of refraction of eyes of a population.

69. A method of claim 67, wherein the ophthalmic lens is an intraocular lens is installed in a position that is between the aperture and the anterior surface of the model eye along the optical axis of the model eye, wherein the model eye has a power of refraction equal to an averaged power of refraction of corneas of a population.

70. A method of claim 69, wherein the optical metrology system further comprises a micro-electro-mechanical device (MEM) that can be controlled by a computer system to generate desired wavefront aberrations of the eye which needs to be corrected, wherein the MEM is located in the optical pathway of the metrology system between the wavefront sensor and the model eye.

71. A method of claim 70, wherein the MEM is deformable mirror.

72. A method of claim 71, wherein the first wavefront aberrations are the sum of the desired wavefront aberrations of the eye which needs to be corrected and intrinsic aberrations of the optical metrology system, wherein the third wavefront aberrations are uncorrectable wavefront aberrations of the eye with the ophthalmic lens or additional undesired aberrations contributed by the ophthalmic lens.

73. A method for ordering a customized contact lens, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) receiving by a server system a first request from a client computer system to look for a customized contact lens, wherein the first request comprises a set of characteristic data of the eye of a patient, wherein the set of characteristic data of the eye of the patient comprises aberrations and corneal topography of the eye of the patient;

(2) converting the characteristic data of the eye of the patient into a querying order in a format readable by a query engine in the server system;

(3) using the querying order to search against a stock keeping unit (SKU) database to obtain a list of SKUs, wherein each of the SKUs in the list is capable of accommodating adequately the corneal topography of the eye and of correcting adequately the aberrations of the eye;

(4) displaying lens information related to each of the list of SKUs with SKU identifiers under control of the client computer system;

(5) selecting a SKU with a SKU identifier under control of the client computer system or a choice to make a new customized contact lens;

(6) sending a second request to order a contact lens with the SKU identifier or to order the new customized contact lens to be made, along with a customer identifier that identifies the patient and/or an eye-care practitioner who takes care of the patient, under control of the client computer system;

(7) receiving the second request by the server system;

(8) retrieving additional information previously stored for the patient and/or the eye-care practitioner identified by the customer identifier in the received second request; and

(9) generating an order to deliver the customized lens for the patient or the eye-care practitioner identified by the customer identifier in the received second request using the retrieved additional information.

74. A method of claim 73, wherein the lens information comprises the conformity of each lens to the corneal topography of the corresponding eye and a reachable visual acuity with a specific SKU.

74-1. (canceled)

75. A method of claim 74, wherein the conformity of each lens to the corneal topography of the corresponding eye is displayed in a client computer system as an interactive three-dimensional graphic representation.

75-2. (canceled)

76. A method of claim 75, wherein the reachable visual acuity with a specific SKU is display in the client computer system as a graphic representation simulating retina image quality.

77. A method of claim 76, wherein the set of characteristic data of the eye of the patient further comprises the corneal topography data of the eye of the patient.

76-3. (canceled)

78. A method for ordering a pair of customized contact lenses, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) receiving by a server system a request to order a pair of customized contact lenses, wherein the request comprises a set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes of a patient, wherein the set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes of the patient comprises aberrations of the eyes;

(2) converting the set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes of the patient into a querying order in a format readable by a query engine in the server system;

(3) using the querying order to search against a SKU database to obtain a first SKU and a second SKU, wherein the first SKU is capable of correcting adequately the aberrations of the first eye, wherein the second SKU is capable of correcting adequately the aberrations of the second eye; and

(4) generating an order to deliver the pair of customized lenses.

79. A method for ordering a pair of customized contact lenses, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) receiving by a server system a first request from a client computer system to look for a pair of customized contact lenses, wherein the first request comprises a set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes of a patient, wherein the set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes of the patient comprises aberrations and corneal topography of each of the two eyes;

(2) converting the set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes of the patient into a querying order in a format readable by a query engine in the server system;

(3) using the querying order to search against a SKU database to obtain a first and a second lists of SKUs, wherein each of SKUs in the first list is capable of accommodating adequately the corneal topography of the first eye and of capable of correcting adequately the aberrations of the first eye, wherein each of SKUs in the second list is capable of accommodating adequately the corneal topography of the second eye and of capable of correcting adequately the aberrations of the second eye;

(4) displaying lens information related to each of the two list of SKUs with SKU identifiers under control of the client computer system;

(5) selecting a pair of SKUs with a first SKU identifier and a second SKU identifier under control of the client computer system or a choice to make a new pair of customized contact lenses;

(6) sending a second request to order a pair of contact lenses with the first and the second SKU identifier or to order the new pair of customized contact lenses to be made, along with a customer identifier that identifies the patient and/or an eye-care practitioner who takes care of the patient, under control of the client computer system;

(7) receiving the second request by the server system;

(8) retrieving additional information previously stored for the patient and/or the eye-care practitioner identified by the customer identifier in the received second request; and

(9) generating an order to deliver the pair of customized lenses for the patient or the eye-care practitioner identified by the customer identifier in the received second request using the retrieved additional information.

80. A system for examining the eyes of an individual and for ordering a pair of customized contact lenses, the system comprising:

(1) a sensor system that determines a set of characteristic data comprising aberrations and corneal topography data of a first and a second eye of the patient;

(2) a client computer system comprising;

(i) a customer identifier that identifies the client computer system a patient and/or an eye-care practitioner is using to connect to a server system;

(ii) a sending/receiving means for;

(a) sending a first request to the server system to look for a pair of contact lenses capable of correcting the aberrations of both eyes, the first request including the set of characteristic data of the first and second eyes so that the server system can compile and supply lens information related to a first list and a second list of stock keeping units (SKUs), wherein each of the first list of SKUs has a posterior surface adequately accommodating the corneal topography of the first eye and can correct adequately the aberrations of the first eye, and wherein each of the second list of SKUs has a posterior surface adequately accommodating the corneal topography of the second eye and can correct adequately the aberrations of the second eye; and

(b) receiving the lens information;

(iii) a displaying means for displaying lens information that helps a patient to select a pair of customized lenses; and

(iv) a selecting means for selecting a pair of SKUs identified by a first SKU identifier and a second SKU identifier or a new pair of customized contact lenses and for sending a second request to the server system to order the pair of SKUs or the new pair of customized contact lenses to be made, along with the customer identifier so that the server system can locate additional information to complete and fulfill the order,

wherein the sensor system is connected through a communication media to the client computer system.

81. A method for ordering a customized contact lens, the method comprising the steps of:

(1) receiving by a server system a request to order a customized contact lens, wherein the request comprises a set of characteristic data of an eye of a patient, wherein the set of characteristic data of the eye of the patient comprises aberrations of the eye;

(2) converting the set of characteristic data of the eye of the patient into a querying order in a format readable by a query engine in the server system;

(3) using the querying order to search against a SKU database to obtain a SKU that is capable of correcting adequately the aberrations of the eye; and

(4) generating an order to deliver the customized lens for the patient or the eye-care practitioner identified by the customer identifier.