STTR Phase II: Refractive correction using non-invasive laser-induced refractive index change

STTR 第二阶段：利用非侵入性激光诱导折射率变化进行屈光矫正

• 批准号: 1738506
• 负责人: Len Zheleznyak
• 金额: $ 75万
• 依托单位: Clerio Vision, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-15 至 2021-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1738506&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: STTR; Phase; II; Refractive; correction

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase II project enables the development of the next generation of contact lenses for vision correction based on a novel photomodification technique called "LIRIC (Laser Induced Refractive Index Change)." More than 2.3 billion people world-wide suffer from refractive error in their visual system, while over 500 million have inadequate access to refractive correction. Glasses are an option for refractive correction, however there can be practical limitations and even social stigma associated with wearing glasses, particularly among adolescents. Meanwhile vision correction with contact lenses is limited to lenses whose optical prescription is determined by their thickness profile. This has negative consequences for visual quality, on-eye stability and corneal health. The research represents a fundamental shift in how vision correction is applied because it alters the refractive index of an optical material, enabling previously unavailable visual correctors in thin, stable contact lenses. LIRIC uses a high repetition rate, femtosecond laser to micro-modify the local medium to produce custom refractive corrections in hydrogels, and in living cornea. LIRIC works by accumulating localized refractive index (RI) changes in an ocular material to create a refractive lateral gradient index lens. Changing the refractive index using LIRIC instead of the surface shape can lead to several fundamental advances for vision correction, with profound implications for vision care: 1) contact lenses can be manufactured specifically for patient fit and stability with the refractive correction decoupled from the lens shape; 2) difficult and irregular refractive corrections (i.e. for irregular astigmatism, presbyopia, and higher order aberrations) could be written more easily and with better spatial resolution than with existing methods; 3) multifocal and diffractive optical designs can be utilized for presbyopic and macular degenerative corrections. Patients viewing through LIRIC lenses, created in Phase I, had visual performance (visual acuity and contrast sensitivity) on par with a control lens. The objective of the Phase II work is to demonstrate that LIRIC works in contact lenses at process speeds necessary for commercial manufacturing. The goal of this work is to demonstrate that a 6.5 mm optical zone can be successfully processed in 15 seconds. To effectively do so, the LIRIC process has to achieve more than 1 wave of phase change (at 555 nm wavelength) at laser scanning velocities in excess of 10 meter/second.

这个小企业创新研究第二阶段项目能够基于一种名为“LIRIC（激光诱导折射率变化）”的新型光修改技术开发下一代用于视力矫正的隐形眼镜。“全世界有超过23亿人的视觉系统患有屈光不正，而超过5亿人无法充分获得屈光矫正。眼镜是屈光矫正的一种选择，但戴眼镜可能会有实际的限制，甚至会带来社会耻辱，特别是在青少年中。同时，使用接触镜片的视力矫正仅限于其光学处方由其厚度轮廓确定的镜片。这对视觉质量、眼上稳定性和角膜健康具有负面影响。这项研究代表了视力矫正应用方式的根本转变，因为它改变了光学材料的折射率，使以前无法在薄而稳定的隐形眼镜中使用视力矫正器。LIRIC使用高重复率的飞秒激光对局部介质进行微修改，以在水凝胶和活体角膜中产生定制的屈光矫正。LIRIC通过累积眼用材料中的局部折射率（RI）变化来产生折射横向梯度指数透镜。使用LIRIC而不是表面形状来改变折射率可以导致视力矫正的几个基本进步，对视力保健具有深远的影响：1）接触透镜可以专门针对患者适配和稳定性制造，其中折射矫正与透镜形状分离; 2）困难和不规则的屈光矫正（即，用于不规则散光、老花眼和高阶像差）可以比现有方法更容易地书写并且具有更好的空间分辨率; 3）多焦点和衍射光学设计可用于老花眼和黄斑变性矫正。通过I期研究中创建的LIRIC镜片观察的患者的视觉性能（视敏度和对比敏感度）与对照透镜相当。第II阶段工作的目的是证明LIRIC在商业生产所需的工艺速度下在角膜接触镜中起作用。这项工作的目标是证明可以在15秒内成功处理6.5 mm的光学区。为了有效地做到这一点，LIRIC工艺必须在超过10米/秒的激光扫描速度下实现多于1个波的相变（在555 nm波长处）。