HIGH PERMEABILITY, LONG WEAR CONTACT LENS MATERIALS

尽管隐形眼镜的舒适性和便利性有了很大的进步，但目前所有的隐形眼镜材料仍然存在对角膜健康的风险。今天使用的隐形眼镜由于透氧性低，特别是在夜间佩戴时，减少了可供角膜使用的氧气。这种氧剥夺(角膜缺氧)已被证明会导致基质和上皮细胞水肿、溃疡性角膜炎和角膜新生血管，以及其他并发症。这些并发症，如果不治疗，可能会导致永久性的眼睛损伤，甚至丧失视力。紧凑膜系统公司已经确定了一种新的玻璃状全氟膜材料家族，其透氧性明显高于目前使用的隐形眼镜材料。这种透氧性的显著增加不仅可以减少或防止与角膜缺氧相关的并发症，还可以延长隐形眼镜的配戴时间。除了极高的渗透性外，这些全氟薄膜还表现出高于95%的光学透明度，以及憎恶有机和“不粘”的特性(以防止脂质沉积)。在第一阶段，我们将通过生产硬质透气隐形眼镜并展示其安全、连续佩戴隐形眼镜的卓越性能以及将脂肪和蛋白质润湿降至最低的能力来证明这些隐形眼镜的可行性。拟议的商业应用：一种隐形眼镜可以显著降低合同配戴的风险，同时允许长期佩戴，肯定会吸引美国2500万隐形眼镜佩戴者。此外，永久性隐形眼镜可以作为白内障手术后人工晶状体置换的替代方案。

Despite significant advances in the comfort and convenience of contact lenses, all current contact lens materials still present risks to corneal health. The contact lenses in use today reduce the oxygen available to the cornea due to low oxygen permeability of the lens, particularly during overnight wear. This oxygen deprivation (corneal hypoxia) has been shown to cause stromal and epithelial edema, ulcerative keratitis and corneal neovascularization, as well as other complications. These complications, if left untreated, can lead to permanent eye damage and even loss of vision. Compact Membrane Systems, Inc. has identified a new family of glassy perfluoromembrane materials with oxygen permeability that is significantly greater than that of contact lens materials used today. This dramatic increase in oxygen permeability will not only reduce or prevent the complications associated with corneal hypoxia, it will also allow for much longer contact lens wear schedules. In addition to extremely high permeability, these perfluoromembranes also exhibit optical clarity greater than 95% and an organophobic and "non-sticking" character (to resist lipid deposition). In Phase I, we will demonstrate the feasibility of these lenses by producing rigid gas permeable contact lenses and demonstrating their superior properties for safe, continuous contact lens wear and ability to minimize lipid and protein wetting. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: A contact lens that dramatically decreases the risks associated with contract lens wear, and simultaneously allows for long-term wear schedules is sure to appeal to the 25 million contact lens wearers in the United States. Additionally, a permanent contact lens could be used as an alternative to intraocular lens replacement after cataract surgery.