US 11,231,597 B2 · Oxygen permeable contact lenses with thick payloads

Abstract

A contact lens having a cap, core, and base forming three layers to allow for the contact lens to be thick enough to accommodate a payload, while ensuring sufficient oxygenation of the wearer's eye. The cap and base are each a thin layer of gas-permeable material, each shaped to form an air gap between them and the core. The two air gaps are connected by air passages that traverse the core. Oxygen from an outside environment passes through the gas-permeable cap to reach the outer air gap, through the air passages to the inner air gap, and through the gas-permeable base to reach the cornea of the wearer's eye. The cap may be annular in form, having a center hole such that the cap does not extend over the central zone of the core, reducing a thickness of the contact lens.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A contact lens to be worn on an eye, comprising:

a core having an outer surface and an inner surface, and containing one or more electrical components;
a gas-permeable cap located entirely outside a central zone of the contact lens and adjacent to the core's outer surface, the cap and the core's outer surface forming an outer air gap therebetween that receives oxygen from a surrounding environment through the gas-permeable cap;
a gas-permeable base adjacent to the core's inner surface and disposed over the cornea of the eye, the base and the core's inner surface forming an inner air gap therebetween that passes oxygen to the cornea of the eye through the gas-permeable base;
and
wherein the core contains a network of one or more air passages traversing the core from the outer air gap to the inner air gap.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Oxygen permeable contact lenses with thick payloads

Life of this patent

Oxygen permeable contact lenses with thick payloads

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20