Search

EP-4740907-A2 - OPHTHALMIC LENSES FOR REDUCING MYOPIC PROGRESSION AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME

EP4740907A2EP 4740907 A2EP4740907 A2EP 4740907A2EP-4740907-A2

Abstract

A method includes providing an ophthalmic lens having a prescribed optical power, the ophthalmic lens having a surface having a base curvature corresponding to the prescribed optical power, and exposing a material at the surface to laser radiation sufficient to locally reshape the material to form a plurality of lenslets on the surface. The lenslets each have a corresponding optical power that differs from the prescribed optical power of the ophthalmic lens.

Inventors

  • HONES, PETER
  • CHALBERG, THOMAS, W., JR.

Assignees

  • SIGHTGLASS VISION, INC.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20200302

Claims (8)

  1. A method, comprising: exposing discrete locations on a surface of an ophthalmic lens to laser radiation sufficient to form pits in the surface of the ophthalmic lens at those locations; and depositing a first material in the pits in the surface of the ophthalmic lens to provide light scattering centers or lenslets in the lens.
  2. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the light scattering centers or lenslets further comprises removing residual first material on the lens surface outside of the pits.
  3. The method of claim 1, wherein the first material is deposited after the discrete locations are exposed.
  4. The method of claim 1, wherein the exposure and deposition are synchronized so deposition commences before exposure is complete.
  5. The method of claim 4, wherein exposure and deposition sequentially form and then deposit material in each pit before forming a subsequent pit.
  6. The method of claim 4, wherein the synchronized exposure and deposition are performed by simultaneously moving relative to the lens surface a laser and print nozzle that are fixed relative to each other.
  7. The method of claim 1, wherein the deposition involves depositing discrete volumes of the first material in the pits.
  8. A method, comprising: coating a layer of a first material on a surface of an ophthalmic lens; exposing the layer of the first material to laser radiation sufficient to remove the first material from discrete locations of the layer and form pits in the surface of the ophthalmic lens at those locations; after exposing the layer of the first material, depositing a second material over the layer of the first material, wherein the second material fills the pits in the surface of the ophthalmic lens; and after depositing the second material, removing the layer of the first material from the surface of the ophthalmic lens to provide a pattern of spaced apart regions of the second material on the surface of the ophthalmic lens.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Provisional Application No. 62/812,639, filed on March 1, 2019, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND The eye is an optical sensor in which light from external sources is focused, by a lens, onto the surface of the retina, an array of wavelength-dependent photosensors. The lens of the eye can accommodate by changing shape such that the focal length at which external light rays are optimally or near-optimally focused to produce inverted images on the surface of the retina that correspond to external images observed by the eye. The eye lens focuses light, optimally or near-optimally, emitted by, or reflected from external objects that lie within a certain range of distances from the eye, and less optimally focuses, or fails to focus objects that lie outside that range of distances. In normal-sighted individuals, the axial length of the eye, or distance from the front of the cornea to the fovea of the retina, corresponds to a focal length for near-optimal focusing of distant objects. The eyes of normal-sighted individuals focus distant objects without nervous input to muscles which apply forces to alter the shape of the eye lens, a process referred to as "accommodation." Closer, nearby objects are focused, by normal individuals, as a result of accommodation. Many people, however, suffer from eye-length-related disorders, such as myopia ("nearsightedness"). In myopic individuals, the axial length of the eye is longer than the axial length required to focus distant objects without accommodation. As a result, myopic individuals can view near objects at a certain distance clearly, but objects further away from that distance are blurry. Typically, infants are born hyperopic, with eye lengths shorter than needed for optimal or near-optimal focusing of distant objects without accommodation. During normal development of the eye, referred to as "emmetropization," the axial length of the eye, relative to other dimensions of the eye, increases up to a length that provides near-optimal focusing of distant objects without accommodation. Ideally, biological processes maintain the near-optimal relative eye length to eye size (e.g., axial length) as the eye grows to final, adult size. However, in myopic individuals, the relative axial length of the eye to overall eye size continues to increase during development, past a length that provides near-optimal focusing of distant objects, leading to increasingly pronounced myopia. It is believed that myopia is affected by environmental factors as well as genetic factors. Accordingly, myopia may be mitigated by therapeutic devices which address environmental factors. For example, therapeutic devices for treating eye-length related disorders, including myopia, are described in U.S. Pub. No. 2011/0313058A1. SUMMARY Techniques for forming optical elements on surfaces of conventional ophthalmic lenses (e.g., stock finished or semi-finished lenses) are described. The techniques involve exposing the ophthalmic lens at discrete locations to laser radiation to shape a material at the surface to yield an optical element such as a light scattering center or a lenslet. The techniques can include depositing one or more materials on the lens surface. The optical elements can be formed from, wholly or partly, from the one or more deposited materials. Optical elements can be sized, shaped, and distributed in a pattern making the ophthalmic lens suitable for treating eye-length related disorders. Various aspects of the invention are summarized as follows. In general, in one aspect, the invention features a method that includes providing an ophthalmic lens having a prescribed optical power, the ophthalmic lens having a surface having a base curvature corresponding to the prescribed optical power, and exposing a material at the surface to laser radiation sufficient to locally reshape the material to form a plurality of lenslets on the surface, the lenslets each having a corresponding optical power that differs from the prescribed optical power of the ophthalmic lens (e.g., the optical power of the lenslets can be higher or lower than the prescribed optical power). Implementations of the method can include one or more of the following features. For example, exposing the material at the surface includes causing relative motion between a beam of the laser radiation at the surface to locally expose different areas of the surface to the laser radiation. Each lenslet can be formed by moving the beam in a spiral path at each lenslet location on the surface. Each lenslet can be formed by moving the beam in one or more circular or elliptical paths at each lenslet location on the surface. The material at each lenslet location can be exposed to the laser radiation more than once. A power of the beam of laser radiation can be varied during the exposure of the material at each lens location. For examp