Novel Method for Determining Hydrogel and Silicone Hydrogel Contact Lens Transmission Curves and Their Spatially Specific Ultraviolet Radiation Protection Factors

Abstract

Anterior ocular tissues exposed to high levels of toxic ultraviolet (UV) radiation may undergo physiologic changes leading to diseases that can alter the ocular surface, particularly in the stem cell-rich limbal region. UV radiation-blocking hydrogel contact lenses provide protection across the ocular surface, which varies according to the lens thickness. A novel fiber optic spectrophotometer front-end system has been developed to measure lens transmission curves at test points across lens surfaces to determine optical properties based on the Beer-Lambert law. Factors determining the transmission curves include the hydrogel lens used, its refractive index, whether a UV radiation-blocking dopant is incorporated, the water content, and the thickness of the lens. Test lenses of equal power were placed over a detecting fiber optic and illuminated by a deuterium source, and transmission spectra were recorded. The small optical sampling size allowed the spectral transmission profile to be determined across the lens surface, and comparisons were made with different lenses. Transmission curves across the lenses showed greater UV radiation-blocking capacity at the thicker peripheral region, with the 50% cutoff wavelength moving toward the visible spectrum by 10 nm from the center to the periphery. In addition, the ability to determine the spatially specific absorption coefficient and the related UV radiation protection factor was demonstrated. The system measures spatial variation in lens transmission and comparing different lens types while overcoming many of the handling limitations of cuvette-based spectrophotometer methods. The data show good agreement with published transmission curves and allow intralens and interlens comparisons.