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Biocompatibility, SiH lenses and the impact of hydration on comfort

Contact Lenses Practice
Anne Austin recently facilitated a series of online interviews with Professors Nathan Efron, Desmond Fonn and James Wolffsohn to examine conventional and current thinking on water content and lens surface dynamics and their impact on silicone hydrogel biocompatibility and comfort. Here the highlights of the interviews are presented as a 'virtual' roundtable discussion

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The silicone material used in SiH contact lenses is inherently more hydrophobic than the non-silicone hydrogel materials. SiH lens manufacturers must find ways to overcome lens surface hydrophobicity since it can create issues in terms of lens wettability and surface deposition. Achieving ideal lens water content presents yet another challenge since increasing water content in a silicone hydrogel lens can reduce oxygen transmissibility. This is because increasing water content results in decreased silicone content in the lens and silicone is a better transmitter of oxygen than water.

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