Bifocal Contact Lenses Introduction, Acuvue Bifocal Contact Lens, Contact Lenses Directory

What are bifocal contact lenses?

In the not too distant past people suffering from presbyopia had little choice when it came to eye-care, in fact it was bifocal glasses or nothing. The good news is that technology has moved on in leaps and bounds and today it's simply a case of deciding which type of bifocal contact lens is best for you.

Simultaneous vision lenses enable the eye to focus on near and distant objects at the same time by dividing the lens into two or more prescriptions, either gradually, as a series of concentric circles, or divided horizontally (as with traditional bifocals). It's then left up to the eye to ‘learn' which part of the lens to use at which distance, which it does remarkably quickly.

Monovision lenses typically take a little longer to get used to, but may be more effective for certain conditions. One of the main drawbacks of Monovision lenses is that, as each eye is focussing on a different depth, binocular depth perception is affected. Most eye-care professionals will offer free trial lenses so it's worth listening to their advice and experimenting before making a firm decision.

Bifocal contacts are now available as hard rigid gas permeable lenses and soft lenses, including daily disposable lenses. Visit Bifocal Contact Lenses UK to learn more information about the bifocal contact lens.

About bifocal contact lenses

An Innovation

When the makers of ACUVUE®, the number-one doctor-prescribed brand of contact lenses, developed ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses, it was a technological breakthrough. That's because ACUVUE® BIFOCAL is the only contact lens with PUPIL INTELLIGENT DESIGN™.It has five invisible, concentric zones that allow you to see clearly at varying distances. So you won't find yourself having to think about which part of the lens to use - you simply put them on and go.

Easy to Use

ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses are extremely easy to use because once you put them on, you can forget about them the rest of the day. Other convenient features include:

• An inside-out indicator - so they go on right the first time
• Visibility tint - so you can easily see them in the case and on your finger
• Flexible wear schedules - to fit your lifestyle
• UV Blocking* - ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses block approximately 86% of the UV-A rays, and 98% of UV-B rays
• Edge Design - Promotes exceptional comfort.
• Precision Junctions - Intended to reduce blurs and halos.

If you'd like to try ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses, talk to one of our Eye Care Professionasl to see if they are right for you.

Are ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses right for me?

ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses are ideal for patients new to bifocal vision correction or those who have been dissatisfied with previous bifocal vision correction options. Plus, they're great for active people and those who desire an alternative to eyeglasses. To learn if ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses are right for you, simply call Contact Lens Institute and set up an appointment.

When can I wear ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses?

Wear ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses anytime you want to experience the freedom and flexibility contact lenses can provide. Unlike bifocal eyeglasses, ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses also correct your peripheral (side) vision in addition to your near and distant vision. This allows you to enjoy a more active lifestyle, whether it's sports, business, travel, or leisure. You can wear ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses every day, or use them as a convenient alternative to your eyeglasses. It's up to you.

[ read more commonly asked questions about bifocal lens ]

acuvue bifocal contact lens

Contacts: disposables still pose eye risk - disposable contact lenses may cause eye inflammation

Since entering the market in 1988, disposable contact lenses have come to account for one in five new prescriptions for contacts. For convenience, a person can wear a pair for one to seven days without removal or cleaning. Physicians expected that the lenses' short life and minimal handling would translate into less ulcerative keratitis. But two new studies now find that patients wearing disposable lenses have higher rates of this eye inflammation than people with other kinds of contacts.

Associated most frequently in a number of studies with soft contact lenses -- especially extended-wear varieties, which can be worn overnight -- this corneal disease can result in permanent loss of vision.

One of the new studies focused on 42 individuals diagnosed with ulcerative keratitis by two Michigan ophthalmologists, John F. Stamler and David D. Verdier of Grand Rapids. Together with Oliver D. Schein of Johns Hopkins Hospital's Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore and his co-workers, the Michigan doctors compared each keratitis sufferer with five other contact-lens wearers who had been prescribed their lenses--of any type--by the same practitioner at the same time.

Patricia Owens Buehler, who led the study. That wasn't surprising, because a 1989 study that Schein directed found a similar risk for extended-wear, nondisposable soft contacts (SN: 9/23/89, p.197), says Buehler, now at the Oregon Health Sciences Center in Portland.

The seven-fold higher risk of keratitis associated with disposable versus nondisposable extended-wear soft contacts 'was unexpected,' she says.

This and a related study appear in the November ARCHIVES OF OPHTHALMOLOGY. That second study compared rates of eye problems in 323 contact-lens wearers entering Moorfields Eye Hospital in London over three months. Unexpectedly, its authors note, 'extended- and daily-wear disposable lenses were associated with higher risks of keratitis than other lens types, including conventional extended-wear lenses.'

Buehler's team is now sifting through data on wearing schedules and hygiene practices from its study trying to explain why more disposable wearers developed keratitis. She believes overnight wear will explain most of the disposables' risk. 'We know that wearing [soft] lenses overnight, as most people do with disposables, increases your risk of this disease,' she notes. And she says that while virtually all disposable wearers leave their lenses in overnight, only 50 percent of people with soft extended-wear lenses do.

'The problem with wearing soft lenses overnight -- disposable or not -- is that none allows the full amount of oxygen to reach the cornea and keep it from swelling,' notes Houston ophthalmologist James E. Key II. At the American Academy of Ophthalmology's annual meeting in Dallas last week, he reported that no soft lens yet allows sufficient oxygen to reach the eye when lids are shut during sleep. Only rigid, gas-permeable lenses, which aren't nearly as comfortable to sleep with, let in enough air, he says.

With the exception of keratitis, disposables pose less risk of eye problems than other soft lenses, several studies show. And even for patients wearing soft lenses overnight, the absolute risk of keratitis remains less than 1 percent, says Peter C. Donshik, a West Hartford, Conn., physician and president of the Contact Lens Association of Ophthalmologists.

[ this section is quoted from Contact Lens Today. ]

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Custom Made Contact Lenses

Custom Made Contact Lenses - can be required for a correction or particular design not yet corrected. We have at our disposal a computerized custom lathe system that can manufacture any type of design that can be engineered. Furthermore we have several international custom houses that we will deal with if one lab does not have available what we need. At Lens Design we have the experience to design and manufacture any type of lens that you need. We have an unprecedented 90 day 100% money back guarantee even on our custom products. [ more about the custom made contact lens ]

Bifocal Contact Lenses

Bifocal contact lenses are designed to give good vision to people who have a condition called presbyopia. The key sign that you're developing presbyopia is that you need to hold reading material, like a menu, further from your eyes to see it clearly.

Bifocal contacts are available in both soft and rigid gas permeable materials. Today's bifocal contact lenses are even available in a disposable or frequent replacement wear regimen. That means you can have the convenience of throwing the lenses out at specified intervals and replacing them with fresh, new lenses. Disposable bifocal contact lenses first became readily available in 1999. The latest product is daily disposable bifocal contacts that you discard nightly and replace with a brand-new pair the next morning.

How Bifocal Contact Lenses Work

Bifocal contacts lens work much like bifocal eyeglasses:

1. They have two powers on one lens: one to correct distance vision, if that's needed, and the other to correct near vision.
2. Some contact lens designs feature two "obvious" prescriptions, with the distance vision on the top of the lens and the near vision at the bottom, similar to a bifocal eyeglass with a line separating the powers. Other designs work more like progressive eyeglass lenses, where the different prescriptive powers are blended on different parts of the lens. Your eye learns to differentiate the proper power for the correct distance.

Different Bifocal Designs

These different designs for bifocal contact lenses are called simultaneous, concentric and alternating vision styles. Simultaneous vision designs fit centered on your cornea with both the distance and near prescription within your pupil area. Your own visual system learns to interpret the correct power choice depending on how close or far you're looking.

In a concentric design, the center portion of the lens has the distance power and the outside or periphery portion has the near power, or vice versa. Alternating vision designs work much like a bifocal eyeglass with a line in that the top of the lens has one power and the bottom has the other.

Monovision, or Contacts for Presbyopia That Aren't Bifocals

Bifocal contact lenses may not be for everyone. Because the eye needs time to adjust to sorting out the different powers, it takes some time to adjust to the lenses. The amount of time it takes will vary from person to person. Likewise, some people will have visual needs that are not satisfied by the current variety of bifocal contacts.

If that's the case, you may still be able to wear contact lenses and see clearly, even if you have presbyopia. Your doctor may recommend monovision as an option. With monovision, you wear one contact lens with one power to correct distance vision and the other contact lens with one power to correct near vision. The distance vision lens is usually worn in your dominant eye.

While monovision may appear to be an unusual choice, most people actually accommodate well to it, and eventually don't even notice that each eye is responsible for a different part of their vision. Because each lens has only one power, your doctor can prescribe any of the currently available spherical lenses for monovision, including all of the current disposable lens options.

The Limitations of Monovision

The down side is that each eye works more or less alone with monovision rather than binocularly, meaning you may have to adjust your head position more often to see. You also may lose some depth perception.

Many eyecare professionals have free-trial programs in place where you can try a bifocal contact lens or even monovision to see if either will work for you. Visit your eye doctor to determine if bifocals or monovision make sense for your eyecare needs and to identify the best lens design for you.

This articles about bifocal contact lens quoted from All About Vision, you can visit their site to learn more about contact lens, and keep your eyes health.

Bifocal contact lenses: Offering new options for an age-old problem

This is an A University of Michigan Health Minute update on important health issues, " U-M experts caution that bifocal lenses should be fitted by an experienced eye doctor " -- Articles Written by Valerie Gliem, from University of Michigan Health System.

Ann Arbor, MI - For many people, it's one of those milestones of aging - the inability to read the newspaper unless someone else is holding it more than an arm's length away.

The cause: Presbyopia, a normal vision change that comes with age, marked by the decreased ability to see things clearly in close range. The consequence: After accepting this sign of the transition to middle age, a trip to the optometrist to get that first pair of reading glasses or bifocals.

Today, advancements in contact lenses are providing a safe and comfortable alternative to glasses for those who need bifocals. But eye care specialists at the University of Michigan Health System's Kellogg Eye Center caution that patients should be sure to have bifocal contact lenses fitted by an experienced medical professional.

"It's important to seek out an eye doctor who's experienced in fitting bifocal contact lenses," says Susan J. Gromacki, O.D., M.S., UMHS lecturer in ophthalmology and visual sciences. "Make sure your doctor is willing to spend a great deal of time with you. A bifocal contact lens cannot be successfully fitted in a 15-minute eye exam."

Presbyopia, which affects the majority of people in their 40's and 50's, is the aging of the lens in the eye and the muscles that control the shape of the lens. The lens of the eye becomes more rigid and does not flex as easily. The result is that it is more difficult to read at close range - hence the need for longer arms or a little help when reading the newspaper.

For some, this hint at middle age may be difficult to accept. But bifocal contact lenses may be a way to ease the transition to middle age for those unwilling to make the leap to wearing glasses.

Bifocal contact lenses are different than bifocal glasses in that they sit on the eye. But like bifocal glasses they're able to help the patient see at all distances - far away, at intermediate distances, and up close.

Gromacki says there are plenty of options now available for those who need bifocals but want to wear contact lenses.

"There are more than 130 designs of bifocal contact lenses on the market and they are better than ever, especially in the last five years," Gromacki says. "One of the newest and most successful types is called aspheric. What that means is that the power of the contact lens progresses gradually from the center of the lens to the periphery. This happens in 360 degrees, which makes this type of lens easier to fit than the previous, older designs of contact lenses."

When a person blinks, their contact lenses often rotate. Because the power in the aspheric lenses progresses out in all directions, the lens can rotate without compromising the person's vision. This is an improvement over the traditional bifocal contact lenses that have a "line" similar to bifocal eyeglasses. The contact lenses with "lines" need to sit on the lower eyelid to stay in place.

As an alternative to eyeglasses with the characteristic bifocal "line," patients sometimes choose progressive lenses for their spectacles - lenses that are seamless. But, Gromacki says, because of the way those eyeglass lenses are made, there's optical distortion in the periphery of the lens. As a result, patients will experience blur when utilizing their peripheral vision.

"The patient needs to point their nose at what they're looking at instead of using their side vision to view something off to the side," Gromacki says.

That problem highlights one of the benefits of bifocal contact lenses. The contact lens sits right on the cornea, so that the patient has clear peripheral vision.

Contrary to what most people think, bifocal contact lenses have been around for nearly 70 years.

"The initial bifocal contact lenses that were designed back in the 1930's looked just like a spectacle with a line in them, what we call a segment," Gromacki says. "And so, when the patient looks straight ahead, they're looking through the top portion of the bifocal lens. When they look down, the eyelid naturally pushes the lens up, so they're viewing through the lower segment. These are difficult to fit, but they are now made in materials which are much more healthy than what was available in the 1930's."

Because of the complexity of her prescription, it took several visits for Cathy DeMars, who has worn contact lenses for 30 years, to have her bifocal contact lenses fitted successfully.

"Several modifications were done, but the finished product was well worth the patience," she says. "When I switch from the monofocal lenses to the bifocal lenses, the acuity is wonderful for me. I have very severe myopia and an astigmatism that's pretty tough to treat. When it comes to those traditional bifocal glasses, I do not get the best of visual acuity, so I love them."

Complex cases like DeMars' are another reason why patients should choose an experienced eye care professional who will take the time to ensure the optimum vision and fit.

"There are many designs, materials and brands of bifocal contact lenses and it's important that the doctor is proficient in knowing the differences between all of them and is able to properly choose the exact brand that's going to be best for that particular patient," Gromacki says. "It's not one size fits all."

Gromacki also reminds patients that LASIK and other surgeries have been successful in helping patients see well without glasses or contact lenses. But they do not help patients with presbyopia. "So, if patients desire to read up close after having such surgeries, they would still need corrective lenses," she says.

Bifocal contact lenses are not for everyone, Gromacki says, "but for most of my patients, they do say that their vision is at least equal to that with spectacle glasses."

Facts about bifocal contact lenses:

• Because they are difficult to fit, those who would like bifocal contact lenses should see an experienced eye care professional.
• Presbyopia is the aging of the lens in the eye and the muscles that control the shape of the lens. It commonly occurs after age 40, when the lens of the eye becomes more rigid and does not flex as easily.
• Bifocal contact lenses have been available since the 1930's. The first bifocal lenses looked just like a spectacle lens with a line in them. Now there are more than 130 designs on the market.
• Bifocals are available as rigid, soft, or disposable contact lenses.

For more information about the eye health on bifocal contact lens, please visit University of Michigan Health System,

ACUVUEŽ BIFOCAL Delivers Vision Clarity, Comfort and Freedom from Bifocal Spectacles and Reading Glasses to Baby Boomers

Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc., Introduces Advanced, New Contact Lens, Corrects Baby Boomers' Changing Vision. News from www.jnj.com

Jacksonville, FL (April 13, 1999) – A new technology advance has been introduced for the most rapidly growing vision problem, one that affects more than 89 million Americans. Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc., announced today that its revolutionary new ACUVUE® BIFOCAL Contact Lenses provide an outstanding correction option for people experiencing the frustrating, mid-life inability to focus on nearby objects, also known as presbyopia. Until now, Baby Boomers have been faced with inconvenient correction choices, such as reading glasses, old-fashioned bifocal spectacles, or monovision contact lenses that correct one eye for near vision and the other eye for distance vision. Now, with the ACUVUE BIFOCAL disposable contact lenses, presbyopes have a clear, new choice.

"Presbyopia will affect nearly 100 million Americans by the end of the year 2000," said Thomas G. Quinn, O.D., M.S., who tested the new ACUVUE BIFOCAL lenses on patients. "The new lens enables wearers, to see both near and far clearly and comfortably, without the awkwardness, inconvenience, or aging appearance of bifocal or reading glasses. My Baby Boomer patients say it's like having their young eyes back."

Patented Process Beats Blurry Vision

Until today, less than one million of the estimated 89 million Americans with presbyopia have found success with previously available contact lenses. Now, however, the patented "Pupil Intelligent™" design of the ACUVUE BIFOCAL lens enables the wearer to easily shift focus between near and far distances.

Crafted using a revolutionary design and patented manufacturing process, each ACUVUE BIFOCAL contact lens is made up of five invisible, concentric viewing rings, or "zones," resembling a bull's-eye target. The concentric rings bring both distant and near objects into sharp focus at the same time.

"Because of the crisp visual transitions from zone to zone, my presbyopic patients are now enjoying better vision than they were with their previous forms of vision correction," Dr. Quinn said. "Many of these patients are not just satisfied, they're absolutely enthusiastic, because they can see better and with more comfort. They're able to freely enjoy all their activities without being encumbered by glasses or less-than-satisfactory vision, and they love the fact that there's no telltale bifocal line."

The ACUVUE BIFOCAL can be prescribed to be worn in two convenient versions: one-week disposable extended wear lenses, or daily wear, two-week replacement lenses.

"With new ACUVUE BIFOCAL lenses, we are offering a higher level of comfort and vision quality, as well as great lifestyle benefits, to the millions of Americans with presbyopia," said Philip R. Keefer, president, Americas, Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc. "We invite everyone to see the difference that this true innovation can make in your life."

As the Eye Ages

Around the age of 40, people begin to notice that newspapers are blurrier, and restaurant menus are harder to read. This is called presbyopia, a condition that is caused by a progressive loss in flexibility of the lens of the eye. This impairs the ability to shift focus between near and far objects. The process is normal and natural, but not preventable.

Presbyopia affects virtually everyone, as the Baby Boom generation now is learning. Every year, four million Americans join the ranks of presbyopes and begin an often frustrating adjustment process. Some bifocal glasses slip down sweaty noses at the gym, or clash with dress-up clothes. Others put on and take off reading glasses hundreds of times a day, misplacing, searching for, losing and replacing them. Monovision contact lenses freed a few presbyopes from eyeglasses, but sometimes at the cost of depth perception, especially at night.

"A bifocal contact lens that delivers comfort and outstanding vision means freedom from these daily indignities of middle age," said Neil B. Gailmard, O.D. "My patients have really enjoyed putting away their bifocal and reading glasses. Almost everyone has mentioned it."

For more information about ACUVUE BIFOCAL contact lenses call 1-888-4-ACUVUE or 1-888-422-8883 toll-free.

Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc., pioneered the concept of disposable contact lens wear in 1987 with the introduction of ACUVUE® Contact Lenses. Today, Johnson & Johnson Vision Products, Inc., headquartered in Jacksonville, FL, manufactures and markets VISTAVUE® Contact Lenses, as well as the first, second and third best-selling contact lenses worldwide: ACUVUE® Contact Lenses, SUREVUE® Contact Lenses and 1-DAY ACUVUE® Daily Disposable Contact Lenses.