Patents Represented by Attorney Jian Zhou
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Patent number: 7847016Abstract: The invention relates to ophthalmic molding formulations and to tinted, high Dk ophthalmic moldings. This invention also relates to a method for making a tinted ophthalmic molding, particularly edge-to-edge soft, tinted contact lenses having improved properties, are prepared with an improved efficiency.Type: GrantFiled: October 15, 2008Date of Patent: December 7, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Richard Charles Turek, Jacalyn Mary Schremmer
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Patent number: 7810925Abstract: A contact lens having near vision and distance vision portions, the lens being movable on the eye between first and second positions, those positions corresponding with aligning the wearer's vision through the near vision and distance vision portions respectively. The lens is positionally stable on the eye in each of the two positions, and requires a force to be applied to the lens to move between the first and second positions. Preferably the lens has a back surface and a front surface, and said back surface has either one or two major back curve zones occupying a major portion of the lens back surface.Type: GrantFiled: April 30, 2009Date of Patent: October 12, 2010Inventors: Simon Rodney Evans, Arthur Ho, Geoffrey Peter Brent, Klaus Ehrmann, Darrin Mark Falk, Sandya Indrani Perera, Jacqueline Tan, Renee Du Toit
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Patent number: 7795359Abstract: The invention provides a continuous-flow process for producing a polymeric material. The process of the invention comprises the steps of: introducing at least two solutions, each comprising one or more reactants, into a microreactor to mix the two solutions to form a reacting solution, wherein the one or more reactants are selected from the group consisting of a monomer, an initiator, a coupling agent, a prepolymer, a macromer, and mixtures thereof; feeding continuously the reacting solution into a flow-through polymerization reactor in a coil form, wherein the flow-through polymerization reactor is capable of providing a residence time sufficient for (co)polymerizing the reactants to form a polymer with a desired polydispersity, wherein the flow-through polymerization reactor is immersed in an ultrasonic bath to minimize or substantially eliminate unwanted high-molecular-weight fractions of the polymer.Type: GrantFiled: March 1, 2006Date of Patent: September 14, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Brian Gerrard Devlin, Troy V. Holland, Dawn Alison Smith, Alexander Azzawi
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Patent number: 7780293Abstract: The present invention provides a method for designing and making a customized ophthalmic lens, such as a contact lens or an intraocular lens, capable of correcting high-order aberrations of an eye. The posterior surface of the customized contact lens is designed to accommodate the corneal topography of an eye. The design of the customized ophthalmic lens is evaluated and optimized in an optimizing routine using a computational model eye that reproduces the aberrations and corneal topography of an eye. The present invention also provides a system and method for characterizing the optical metrology of a customized ophthalmic lens that is designed to correct aberrations of an eye. Furthermore, the present invention provides a business model and method for placing an order for a pair of customized ophthalmic lenses.Type: GrantFiled: August 16, 2006Date of Patent: August 24, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Rafael Victor Andino, Courtney Flem Morgan, Joseph Michael Lindacher
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Patent number: 7775663Abstract: The present invention provides a method for designing and making a customized ophthalmic lens, such as a contact lens or an intraocular lens, capable of correcting high-order aberrations of an eye. The posterior surface of the customized contact lens is designed to accommodate the corneal topography of an eye. The design of the customized ophthalmic lens is evaluated and optimized in an optimizing routine using a computational model eye that reproduces the aberrations and corneal topography of an eye. The present invention also provides a system and method for characterizing the optical metrology of a customized ophthalmic lens that is designed to correct aberrations of an eye. Furthermore, the present invention provides a business model and method for placing an order for a pair of customized ophthalmic lenses.Type: GrantFiled: August 16, 2006Date of Patent: August 17, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Rafael Victor Andino, Courtney Flem Morgan, Joseph Michael Lindacher
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Patent number: 7762667Abstract: The present invention provides a method for designing and making a customized ophthalmic lens, such as a contact lens or an intraocular lens, capable of correcting high-order aberrations of an eye. The posterior surface of the customized contact lens is designed to accommodate the corneal topography of an eye. The design of the customized ophthalmic lens is evaluated and optimized in an optimizing routine using a computational model eye that reproduces the aberrations and corneal topography of an eye. The present invention also provides a system and method for characterizing the optical metrology of a customized ophthalmic lens that is designed to correct aberrations of an eye. Furthermore, the present invention provides a business model and method for placing an order for a pair of customized ophthalmic lenses.Type: GrantFiled: August 16, 2006Date of Patent: July 27, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Rafael Victor Andino, Courtney Flem Morgan, Joseph Michael Lindacher
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Patent number: 7744785Abstract: The present invention provides a method and a formulation for consistently producing a silicone hydrogel material having relatively high oxygen permeability, relatively high ion permeability, and low modulus, and contact lenses prepared from a formulation of the invention or made of a silicone hydrogel material of the invention.Type: GrantFiled: December 14, 2006Date of Patent: June 29, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventor: John Christopher Phelan
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Patent number: 7722808Abstract: The present invention provides a method and a container for sterilizing a soft contact lens and for providing a sterilized storage package of the soft contact lens maintained in a packaging solution. By using the method and container of the invention, deformations of soft contact lenses during autoclave can be substantially reduced.Type: GrantFiled: September 8, 2004Date of Patent: May 25, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Yasuo Matsuzawa, Nicolae Enciu, Celeste Aguado
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Patent number: 7723402Abstract: The present invention provides a chemical ink comprises a solvent, a binder polymer, a colorant and optionally a crosslinker. The ink of the invention has one or more of the following characteristics: a viscosity lower than about 50 centipoises; a surface tension of from about 20 mN/m to about 60 mN/m; a particle size of less than about 5 ?m; prolonged stability; an appropriate color level (visible by eye); uniform drop formation; jet stability; good adhesion to contact lenses; good transfer from a mold to a lens made in the mold; and stability of ink in inkjet nozzles. The ink of the invention is useful for inkjet printing of a high-quality color image on a contact lens or a mold so as to produce a colored contact lens.Type: GrantFiled: January 5, 2007Date of Patent: May 25, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Robert Carey Tucker, Sandra Corti
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Patent number: 7671156Abstract: The present invention provides silicone hydrogel materials having relatively high oxygen permeability and a relatively low modulus. The relatively-low modulus is achieved by adding a chain transfer agent into a polymerizable fluid composition in an amount sufficient to provide to the resultant silicone hydrogel material with a reduced modulus. In addition, the invention provides silicone hydrogel contact lenses comprising a silicone hydrogel material of the invention, a method for making a silicone hydrogel material of the invention, and a method for making a silicone hydrogel contact lens of the invention.Type: GrantFiled: August 8, 2006Date of Patent: March 2, 2010Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: John Christopher Phelan, Angelika Maria Domschke, Marcia Kay Ash
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Patent number: 7638075Abstract: The present invention provides novels inks and methods for making a colored polymeric substrates, preferably a contact lens. In the inventive method at least a portion of a surface of a lens is coated with a color coat comprising at least one colorant, and a binder polymer obtained by copolymerizing a first monomer being ethylenically unsaturated and having a latent crosslinkable pendent group; and a second monomer having an ethylenically unsaturated double bond copolymerizable with the first monomer. The lens is then subjected to conditions that cause the color coat to adhere to the lens.Type: GrantFiled: May 25, 2005Date of Patent: December 29, 2009Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Michael Hugh Quinn, Robert Carey Tucker, Sandra Corti, John Christopher Phelan
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Patent number: 7566754Abstract: The invention relates to novel crosslinkable copolymers which are obtainable by (a) copolymerizing at least one hydrophilic monomer having one ethylenically unsaturated double bond and at least one crosslinker comprising two or more ethylenically unsaturated double bonds in the presence of a chain transfer agent having a functional group; and (b) reacting one or more functional groups of the resulting copolymer with an organic compound having an ethylenically unsaturated group. The crosslinkable copolymers of the invention are especially useful for the manufacture of biomedical mouldings, for example ophthalmic mouldings such as in particular contact lenses.Type: GrantFiled: August 10, 2007Date of Patent: July 28, 2009Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Beat Müller, Alain Laurent, Veerle Coessens, Aaldert Rens Molenberg
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Patent number: 7537338Abstract: A contact lens having near vision and distance vision portions, the lens being movable on the eye between first and second positions, those positions corresponding with aligning the wearer's vision through the near vision and distance vision portions respectively. The lens is positionally stable on the eye in each of the two positions, and requires a force to be applied to the lens to move between the first and second positions. Preferably the lens has a back surface and a front surface, and said back surface has either one or two major back curve zones occupying a major portion of the lens back surface.Type: GrantFiled: January 28, 2005Date of Patent: May 26, 2009Inventors: Simon Rodney Evans, Arthur Ho, Geoffrey Peter Brent, Klaus Ehrmann, Darrin Mark Falk, Sandya Indrani Perera, Jacqueline Tan, Renee Du Toit
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Patent number: 7516936Abstract: The present invention generally relates to a contact lens forming mold and to a method of producing contact lenses with higher production yield and improved quality. By coating a contact lens forming mold with a nano-structured fluorine-containing inorganic polycondensate coating solution the number of lens holes, such as voids or areas of non uniform thickness of a contact lens therein produced is substantially decreased.Type: GrantFiled: April 27, 2006Date of Patent: April 14, 2009Assignee: Novartis AGInventor: Giovanni Campanelli
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Patent number: 7497572Abstract: The present invention provides a toric contact lens having a controlled optical power profile. In addition, the invention provides a series of toric contact lenses, each having a series of different targeted cylindrical optical powers and a series of different targeted spherical optical powers, and each having a spherical aberration profile in which (1) the optical power deviations of the lens are substantially constant; (2) power deviation at a distance of 3 mm from the optical axis is from about ?0.5 diopter to about ?1.5 diopters; (3) power deviation at a distance of 3 mm from the optical axis is from about 0.2 diopter to about 1.0 diopter smaller than power deviations at a distance of 2 mm from the optical axis; or (4) there is a spherical aberration component described by any one of fourth order, sixth order, eighth order Zernike spherical aberration-like terms, or combination thereof, wherein the spherical aberration component has a value of ?0.5 diopter to about ?1.Type: GrantFiled: July 16, 2007Date of Patent: March 3, 2009Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Ming Ye, Joseph Michael Lindacher
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Patent number: 7456240Abstract: The invention relates to ophthalmic molding formulations and to tinted, high Dk ophthalmic moldings. This invention also relates to a method for making a tinted ophthalmic molding. The method comprises: (a) providing a polymer precursor having cross-linkable or polymerizable groups; (b) providing a pigment dispersion comprising an inorganic or organic pigment and a dispersing agent; (c) mixing the pigment dispersion with the polymer precursor to form a tinted prepolymer mixture; (d) dispensing the tinted prepolymer mixture into a mold; and (e) forming a tinted ophthalmic molding from the tinted prepolymer mixture, the molding comprising a polymer matrix having the pigment entrapped therein. With this method, tinted ophthalmic moldings, particularly edge-to-edge soft, tinted contact lenses having improved properties, are prepared with an improved efficiency.Type: GrantFiled: January 11, 2006Date of Patent: November 25, 2008Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Richard Charles Turek, Jacalyn Mary Schremmer
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Patent number: 7429465Abstract: The present invention concerns a process for analyzing an analyte in a hydrogel contact lens following its wear on the eye, comprising the steps of (a) physically or chemically inducing a volume reduction of the hydrogel contact lens and thereby squeezing the analyte out of the polymer material making up the contact lens and (b) feeding the analyte obtained according to step (a) into an analyzer. The process of the invention provides a new concept for noninvasively measuring various analytes occurring in the tear fluid that is comfortable to the user.Type: GrantFiled: September 3, 2003Date of Patent: September 30, 2008Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Achim Müller, Roland Schmieder, Katharina Schmid
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Patent number: 7411008Abstract: The present invention provides a chemical ink comprises a solvent, a binder polymer, a colorant and optionally a crosslinker. The ink of the invention has one or more of the following characteristics: a viscosity lower than about 50 centipoises; a surface tension of from about 20 mN/m to about 60 mN/m; a particle size of less than about 5 ?m; prolonged stability; an appropriate color level (visible by eye); uniform drop formation; jet stability; good adhesion to contact lenses; good transfer from a mold to a lens made in the mold; and stability of ink in inkjet nozzles. The ink of the invention is useful for inkjet printing of a high-quality color image on a contact lens or a mold so as to produce a colored contact lens.Type: GrantFiled: November 4, 2002Date of Patent: August 12, 2008Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Robert Carey Tucker, Sandra Corti
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Patent number: 7384143Abstract: The present invention provides a method for converting a desired lens design to a geometry of a contact lens, preferably a customized contact lens or a contact lens having a complex surface design, to be produced in a computer-controlled manufacturing system.Type: GrantFiled: July 23, 2003Date of Patent: June 10, 2008Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: William Jordan Hall, Joseph Michael Lindacher, Gilberto Hernandez, Nelson David Baity, Donald G. McKillop
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Patent number: 7380937Abstract: The present invention provides a series of aspherical contact lenses, each lens having a first central optical zone on its anterior surface and a second central optical zone on its posterior surface. Both central optical zones are aspherical surfaces. The first central optical zone is designed to have a surface which provides a target optical power and an optical power profile selected from the group consisting of (1) a substantially constant optical power profile, (2) a power profile mimicking the optical power profile of a spherical lens with an identical targeted optical power, and (3) a power profile in which lens spherical aberration at 6 mm diameter is from about 0.65 diopter to about 1.8 diopters more negative than spherical aberration at 4 mm diameter.Type: GrantFiled: November 21, 2005Date of Patent: June 3, 2008Assignee: Novartis AGInventors: Ming Ye, Curtis Dean McKenney, John McNally