Silicone hydrogel contact lenses are expected to represent more than two thirds of US contact lens sales by 2009.
This was the key message from Polymer Technology Group (PTG) CEO Robert Ward during a presentation at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting this week (August 20).
Reporting from the 234th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society in Boston, Ward and Jean Jacob, professor of ophthalmology at Louisiana State University Health Center, focused on PTG processing that allows for rapid scale up to produce SH polymers in bulk quantities.
They said that SH lenses represented a breakthrough over traditional hydrogel lenses. 'Next generation contact lenses allow six to seven times more oxygen to permeate than previous CLs, which is why they are becoming very popular with both wearers and eye care professionals,' said Ward.
Improved comfort through the control of surface chemistry that discourages protein accumulations and supports a normal 'tear film' on the outer surface of the lens, was another superior quality of silicone hydrogel contact lenses promoted by Ward and Jacob.
PTG, based in California, specialises in the research, development and manufacture of speciality polymers.