Telescopic Contact Lens

A new contact lens that allows wearers to switch between normal and magnified vision is due to enter a second round of clinical trials later this year. The one millimeter thick lenses have an embedded, ring-shaped telescope made from aluminum mirrors fitted tightly together. The end result is a lens that provides unmagnified vision in the center while the periphery magnifies images 2.8 times.

Specially modified 3D glasses contain liquid crystals that switch the two sections of the lenses on and off by allowing only light with a specific polarization to pass through. The researchers are also looking at developing a hands-free mechanism that uses low power infrared light to switch between the two modes when they blink, for example.

Although initial models were built using polymethyl methacrylate (PPMA) – the same material used in early rigid contact lenses – future designs will incorporate softer, more permeable plastic to enable longer wear.