Evaluation of Oxygen Permeability of Soft Contact Lenses Based on Thickness

Abstract

The oxygen permeability of a soft contact lens is an important parameter for determining corneal health when considering the physiological response of the eye. The aim of this study is to evaluate the oxygen permeability of soft contact lenses based on thickness, using the polarographic method. The thickness of lens was measured using contact and non-contact method. To assess accuracy and reliability, the Bland-Altman plot was used. The reliability was high for the oxygen permeability based on center thickness measured by contact method, whereas the accuracy was high for the oxygen permeability based on center thickness measured by non-contact method. These results indicate that the permeability characteristics were variable according to the measurement and criteria of thickness of soft contact lenses and the measurement of soft contact lenses by non-contact method was more reasonable. Thus, contact lens practitioners should consider some basic differences between methodologies when interpreting or quoting oxygen performance data.