The soft contact lens edge fitting was characterized by the conjunctival buildup and tear film gaps. Different types of contact lenses presented different levels of conjunctival buildup as well as different frequencies of tear film gaps. The findings by UHR-OCT were predicted in the simulation by UL-OCT. The application of these new technologies may open new ways of designing lenses and evaluating their fit.

Developments in optical coherence tomography (OCT) have expanded its clinical applications for ultra-high resolution imaging of the anterior segment of the human eye. This review presents the latest advances for imaging the anterior segment of the eye using ultra-high resolution OCT (UHR-OCT). Unique applications of UHR-OCT technology in clinical and basic scientific laboratory research are discussed and a summary of the results is provided. The authors focused on the use of UHR-OCT for imaging of tear dynamics, contact lens interactions with the corneal surface, and in vivo histological diagnosis of disorders of the cornea, as well as the future direction in this field.

Purpose To measure vertical and horizontal thickness profiles of the central and peripheral corneal epithelium and determine if daytime changes occur. Methods Forty eyes of 20 normal subjects were imaged by ultra-high resolution spectral domain optical coherence tomography to profile the corneal epithelial thickness from the edge of Bowman’s layer to the central cornea across the vertical and horizontal meridians. Measurements were made at 10:00 AM and again at 6, 8 hours later. Results The baseline vertical meridional epithelial thickness was thinnest, 42.9±4.1 μm, at the edge of Bowman’s layer in the superior region. It increased in thickness (p<0.01), towards the central cornea. The central epithelium averaged 52.5±2.4 μm, becoming thickest, 55.2±2.5 μm, in the inferior pericentral region. It thinned towards the inferior periphery, reaching 51.3±5.1 μm at the edge of Bowman’s layer (p<0.01). Along the horizontal meridian, the epithelium was thickest at the nasal side, 58.6±5.1 μm, and temporal side, 59.3±6.6 μm, near the edges of Bowman’s layer. It thinned towards the central cornea. There were no significant changes in the epithelial thickness at any location over 8 hours. Conclusion Epithelial thickness varied over the horizontal and vertical meridians and appeared stable during the daytime.