Archive for February, 2009
February 6th, 2009 by Dan
Whilst Thomas Young lived, in comparison, a somewhat short life, he achieved more than most could only imagine.
Born in 1773 as one of ten siblings, Young had already mastered the Greek and Latin languages by the time he was in his mid-teenage years, as well as being fluent in no less than ten other languages, including French, Turkish, Syriac and Amharic.
At the age of 19, in 1792, Young moved to London to begin his study of medicine, which became his main interest and passion. Travelling around Europe to ensure he got the best possible medical education, Young lived in both Scotland and Germany for several years throughout his study before settling back in London prior to the turn of the 19th Century in 1897. Establishing himself as a leading physician, this became Young’s primary focus for many years.
Only a few years into his life as a full time physician, Young made an important development in the field of vision and contact lenses. In 1801, Young created a device, in the style of a monocle or eye-cup, which was filled with liquid and had an attached microscope. Whilst the aim wasn’t to correct any vision errors but to purely enhance the wearers sight, Young’s workings are ranked highly with the early developments of the modern day contact lens.
Gaining praise from such people as Albert Einstein and fellow contact lens developer Sir John Herschel, Thomas Young was a master in all of the fields he worked in. From his favoured physics to his cherished Eygptology and linguistic skills, Young was at the top of his game in all of them, with his additions to the development of contact lenses being just one of his many achievements.
February 5th, 2009 by Dan
Born into a wealthy family in 1792, Sir John Herschel was destined to be a major name in the world of various sciences – his father, William Herschel, was a well-known astronomer, most famous for the discovery of Uranus, as well as his discovery and progress in regards to infrared radiation.
Sir John Herschel was noted for a work in variety of different work subjects, from astronomy and botanics to photography and mathematics. Whilst famed for different projects and developments in each of these areas, it was his work in the astronomy and photography field that lead Sir John Herschel to become the popular name he is.
In the astronomy field, Herschel began the first use of what we now know as the ‘Julian day’ system, as well as naming a variety of different moons on both Saturn and Uranus. Further to this, Herschel worked heavily investigating photography science and the output he discovered from this – as well as his work in astronomy – lead Herschel into the field of colour blindness and UV rays.
Herschel understood that different people could see colours differently to others and that Ultra Violet rays can be extremely damaging from to the eye. Leading on from this, he understood that some people’s vision wasn’t as good as it should, or could, be and whilst he never developed the contact lens idea with any real depth, he did note in 1845 that “a spherical capsule of glass filled with animal jelly” or “a mould of the cornea” which could be impressed on “some sort of transparent medium” – also known as a common day contact lens.
Taking note of all this but never following any of it up, it took 30 years later for this idea to be developed properly, by the German physiologist Adolf Fick.
Whilst Sir John Herschel isn’t formally associated with the invention of the contact lens, his work in the field without doubt lead the way for future inventors.
February 4th, 2009 by Dan
Born in 1828, Adolf Eugen Fick was a German physiologist who is without doubt the most recognised name in the history of contact lenses. Generally credited with the invention of the modern day contact lens, Fick played a massive role in the development of the contact lens from a basic, eye-cup style invention to the contact lens as we know it today.
At the age of 27, in 1855 Fick presented to the world his law of diffusion, which explained a more technical side to contact lenses, in which the way gas diffuses across a membrane of fluid.
15 years later, in 1870, Fick became the first person to develop a cardiac output measuring system, known commonly as the ‘Fick Principle’,
It wasn’t until 17 years later that Fick really became the popular name that he is in the optical industry. In 1887, Fick successfully created, manufactured and developed the worlds very first contact lens. Made out of heavy brown glass which was carefully blown into the correct shape, the very first contact lenses were first tested on rabbits. After these trials, Fick tried out the contact lenses on himself and then followed this with careful tests on small, selected group of volunteers. The tests were extremely successful and the world’s first contact lenses were developed.
Over the coming years, Fick’s contact lens developments were taken on board and worked with by many field experts and the following 100 years saw contact lenses come on leaps and bounds to how we know them today – all thanks to Adolf Fick’s work.
February 3rd, 2009 by Dan
Refractive Error – a somewhat generic term, refractive error refers to a weakness in the eye in which the eye cannot focus properly due to light entering the retina incorrectly. Everything from farsightedness to its converse, nearsightedness and everything in between, all refractive errors can be corrected by wearing some form of contact lens.
Sir John Herschel – Prior to Adolf Fick’s 1887 major contact lens development, Sir John Herschel, a British Astronomer, developed the idea in 1845 that a contact lens should sit directly onto the eye – unlike all the contact lenses that had been created up to this date, which would sit over the eye, resembling a monocle or eye glass.
Toric Contact Lenses – the ideal solution for anyone with sever astigmatism, Toric contact lenses are a softer contact lens to help make the results of astigmatism more comfortable, unlike the harder contact lenses which are used, where possible, to help cure astigmatism.
UV Contact Lenses – more and more contact lenses are being produced with UV protection already ‘built in’. Helping to reduce the amount of harmful UV rays that enter the eyes, UV contact lenses are great for those wearers who spend a lot of time outdoors.
Washing Solutions – for those people who wear contact lenses longer than daily disposables, there are several washing solutions available. Each contact lens generally has its own recommended washing solution, which helps to clean and maintain the contact lens.
X-Colours – this manufacturer of contact lenses aims to create primarily novelty contact lenses. From colured to mirrored and everything in between, X-Colours have a vast array of contact lenses for each and every occasion.
Young – an English scientist, Thomas Young created the world’s best known predecessor to the common day contact lens. Effectively only an eye cup filled with a variety of mixed liquids, Young’s invention was a step forward but still didn’t effectively correct a wearer’s impaired vision.
Zinc – one of many essential minerals and vitamins that the eye needs to function properly, zinc vitamin tablets are often prescribed to aid with several different eye conditions.
February 2nd, 2009 by Dan
Manual D – the part of Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Code of the Eye’ that details his famous drawings and designs about the way light enters and is refracted back out of the eye, which lead the way for early contact lense developments.
Nearsightedness – known more medically as myopia, nearsightedness is a problem that occurs where the person cannot see items in the distance clearly. Their close-up vision is generally fine, but as the light is focused in front of the retina improperly, their long distance vision suffers – sometimes quite considerably. Of course, a set of contact lenses can help this condition, bringing the distance items into focus.
Opticians, Ophthalmologists and Optometrists - all with one main aim, which is to aid, and where possible, correct the patient’s vision. Opticians are able to prescribe contact lenses, ophthalmologists deal with much more serious eye matters, such as diseases that require surgery, including the fitting of intraocular contact lenses and finally optometrists who are a mixture of both – prescribing contact lenses and carrying out non-surgical operations.
Polymethyl Methacrylate – the material that the first wearable, patient friendly contact lenses were made from. Known to most as Perspex, polymethyl methacrylate is a flexible plastic based material that made the contact lenses easy to fit and remove and comfortable to wear.
Quarterly Replacement Lenses – as their name suggests, quarterly replacement lenses are designed so the wearer can wear a single pair for three months before needing a replacement. Whilst some often wear the lenses for longer, it is generally not recommended as small particles of dust and debris can build up, not only damaging the contact lenses, but the eye too.