Invention of Contact Lenses
Contact lenses are one of many modern marvels that have come to be taken for granted by many people who wear them. Like many other inventions, the creation of contact lenses had a number of contributors---without one of them, contact lenses may not have come to be at all. With more than 100 years of development, determining who really invented contacts can be problematic.
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Muller and Descartes
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F.E. Muller was said to have invented the first modern contact lenses in 1887. However, before Muller, inventor and scientist Rene Descartes was given credit, because he is said to have invented corneal contact lenses, or at least the concept of them, in 1632. Both men provided the groundwork for the evolution of contact lenses into a form that people would recognize today.
Fick and Miller
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In the late 1800s, Eugene Fick came up with the idea of scleral contact shells. This idea was then expanded by August Miller, who created a blown glass version of Fick's contact shells. So far, none of these lenses was used for human eyes, as the danger of putting glass in the eye was far too great. However, the important concepts being developed with glass lenses would be put to use once a more appropriate material was discovered.
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Plastic Contacts
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In 1936, William Feinbloom invented the plastic contact lens. These plastic lenses provided all the benefits of glasses, but due to their material they would not break and damage the wearer's eyes. However, these lenses were harder plastic and were very uncomfortable. With all the research being conducted on plastics during this time, though, better material than the polymethyl methacrylate that was being used would soon be discovered.
Soft Plastics
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In 1948, Kevin Tuohy invented the soft plastic contact lens. The type of contact lens that people today would be familiar with, Tuohy's lenses could be worn in relative comfort, conformed to the shape of the eye and allowed air to pass through to the eye. However, Tuohy's invention was not the final product, only another entry on the timeline of improvements.
Modern Lenses
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Modern contact lenses are made of a variety of materials. Silicone is a popular choice due to its soft and comfortable nature, and new plastics are being created all the time. With disposable contact lenses (which were invented in the 1990s), colored contacts, prescription contacts and all the other variables that can be worked into a single, tiny lens, it becomes obvious that as long as an improvement can be made, someone will try to make it.
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