Novel low cost precision plastics molding for healthcare

超过1.5亿美国人每年花费-150亿美元购买矫正眼镜，以补偿屈光不正。老花眼是一种与年龄相关的住宿丧失，每个人大约在50岁左右都会受到影响。1999年在美国销售的镜片中有四分之一是用于矫正老花眼的渐进式附加镜片(PAL)。随着人口老龄化，这一比例将会增加。商业上可获得的预制PAL需要针对每个患者和使用模式的设计折衷。所有佩戴PAL的人必须接受由 镜片制造商-对于一些镜片佩戴者来说，这些权衡可能是近乎最佳的，但对另一些人来说，他们可能会感到非常不舒服，以至于镜片被拒绝。另一种选择是定制地面伙伴，价格高得令人望而却步。 Squid实验室正在开发一种新颖的可编程成型技术，该技术基于我们现有的制造简单透镜的原型。矫正镜片的“大规模定制”将使用一种可变的、可编程的、可重复使用的模塑膜来实现。第一阶段建议1)基于对商业预制PAL的分析，对新型膜进行计算机建模，以确定生产PAL所需的弹性要求；2)使用几种不同的工艺制造具有最低必需性能的原型膜(S)；以及3)使用这些膜制作透镜的铸造和分析(S)。共焦 显微镜和夏克哈特曼波前传感将是评价透镜表面的主要方法 拓扑。 根据所生产的透镜的口径判断，生产最好的膜的制造方法将被用于第二阶段的活动：1)建造和测试能够制造任意透镜表面的更强大的膜，以及2)利用该膜开发生产级的原型透镜制造机。

Over 150 million Americans spend - $15 billion/yr for corrective eyewear to compensate for refractive error. Presbyopia, the age related loss of accommodation, affects everyone by about age 50. One quarter of US - sold lenses in 1999 were Progressive Addition Lenses (PALs), used to correct Presbyopia. This fraction will increase as the population ages. Commercially available pre-fabricated PALs require a design compromise for each patient and pattern of usage. All PAL wearers must accept the tradeoffs selected by the lens manufacturer - for some lens wearers these tradeoffs may be nearly optimal, but for others they may be so uncomfortable that the lenses are rejected. The alternative, custom ground PALs, is prohibitively expensive. Squid Labs is developing a novel, programmable molding technology, based on our existing prototype for fabrication of simple lenses. 'Mass customization' of corrective lenses will be achieved using a variable, programmable, and thus reusable molding membrane. Phase I proposes 1) computer modeling of the novel membrane, based on analysis of commercially prefabricated PALs, to determine elastic requirements for PAL production; 2) fabrication of prototype membrane(s) with the minimum necessary properties, using several different processes; and 3) casting and analysis of lenses made using these membrane(s). Confocal microscopy and Shack Hartmann wavefront sensing will be the principal methods for evaluating lens surface topologies. The fabrication method producing the best membrane, judged by the caliber of lenses produced, will be utilized for Phase II activities: 1) construction and testing of a more powerful membrane able to produce arbitrary lens surfaces and 2) development of a production level prototype lens fabrication machine utilizing the membrane