Abstract: Aspects of the present invention provide an ophthalmic lens comprising at least one regressive and at least one non-regressive rotationally symmetric optical design element. The regressive and non-regressive optical design elements can be combined so as to form a desired optical power profile for the lens while simultaneously exploiting the different relative orientation of the astigmatic vectors of the constituent regressive and non-regressive design elements, thereby resulting in reduced unwanted astigmatism. The regressive and non-regressive rotationally symmetric optical design elements can be positioned on different lens surfaces and in optical communication or can be collapsed onto the same lens surface. The regressive and non-regressive rotationally symmetric optical design elements can each contribute to the total add power of an ophthalmic lens.

Abstract: An actuator for a fluid-filled lens including a housing having a first and a second end; a reservoir disposed within the housing. In an embodiment, a slider is slidingly disposed within the housing and disposed adjacent to the reservoir. In an embodiment, the actuator further includes a compression arm having a first end that is fixed and a second end that is not fixed, wherein the compression arm is disposed adjacent to the reservoir. Sliding the slider from one end of the housing to the other causes the slider to push the second end of the compression arm so as to compress the reservoir. In an embodiment, the slider includes a first end having a wedge shape configured to compress the reservoir. Sliding of the slider from one end of the housing to the other causes the first end of the slider to compress the reservoir.

Abstract: A variable focus optical apparatus including a rigid, curved, transparent optical component; two transparent, distensible membranes attached to a periphery of the rigid optical component to define two cavities, a first cavity between the rigid optical component and a first membrane and a second cavity between the first membrane and a second membrane; and a variable amount of fluid filling each of the cavities, and a reservoir Containing additional fluid and in fluid communication with the cavity, wherein the reservoir is configured to provide injection of fluid into the cavity or withdrawal of fluid out of the cavity in response to a force or an impulse.

Abstract: A lens blank for a fluid lens includes a rigid lens and a semi-flexible inflatable membrane attached to the rigid lens. The lens blank is divided into a cavity zone and a bonded zone. The cavity zone extends radially outward from a central area of the lens blank and a cavity is formed between the membrane and the rigid lens within the cavity zone. The bonded zone extends radially outward from the cavity zone and the membrane is bonded and fluidly sealed to the rigid lens throughout the bonded zone. The bonded zone is dimensioned to be trimmed to accommodate a plurality of frame shapes and sizes. Methods of manufacturing lens blanks are also provided. Arrays of lens blanks and fluid lenses are also provided.

Abstract: Aspects of the present invention provide progressive addition lenses (PALs) and techniques for designing PALs that result in improved visual performance for the wearer, PALs of the present invention can have vision zones with widths that are more in line with the actual. or functional sizes used by wearers. PALs of the present invention can also introduce controlled amounts of unwanted astigmatism into one or more vision zones. By allowing vision zones to include manageable levels of astigmatism, the resulting PAL can avoid the harsh build-up of astigmatism typically found in conventional PALs at the periphery of the channel and viewing zones. Further, PALs of the present invention can be designed using a merit function to achieve an optimized iterative design that accounts for astigmatism vector orientation and not simply astigmatism magnitude as is the case with conventional PAL design.

Abstract: Disclosed are apparatuses and manufacturing methods for a fluid filled lens reservoir system. The eyeglass reservoir system includes a temple piece having a cavity, a bladder positioned within the cavity and configured to repeatedly compress and relax, the bladder being made of a flexible material, and a connecting tube coupled to an inlet port of a lens module and to the bladder, configured to carry a fluid between the bladder and a fluid filled lens cavity of the lens module. The eyeglass reservoir system further comprises a compression arm contacting the bladder and configured to transmit force from an actuator to the bladder to cause movement of the fluid between the bladder and the connecting tube. The bladder and connecting tube are made of a flexible material such as polyvinyledende difluoride. The connecting tube further comprises a flared end configured to couple to the inlet port of the lens module.

Abstract: Aspects of the present invention provide an ophthalmic lens comprising at least one regressive and at least one non-regressive rotationally symmetric optical design element. The regressive and non-regressive optical design elements can be combined so as to form a desired optical power profile for the lens while simultaneously exploiting the different relative orientation of the astigmatic vectors of the constituent regressive and non-regressive design elements, thereby resulting in reduced unwanted astigmatism. The regressive and non-regressive rotationally symmetric optical design elements can be positioned on different lens surfaces and in optical communication or can be collapsed onto the same lens surface. The regressive and non-regressive rotationally symmetric optical design elements can each contribute to the total add power of an ophthalmic lens.

Abstract: Methods for filling an internal volume of a liquid filled lens mechanism with fluid are provided. In some embodiments, the methods include creating a vacuum within the internal volume, de-aerating the fluid, filling the vacuum in the internal volume with the de-aerated fluid, and sealing the internal volume. In some embodiments, the methods include elevating a temperature of the fluid prior to sealing the internal volume. In some embodiments, the internal volume is formed by a structure having at least one flexible component.

Abstract: Implantable ophthalmic devices with aspheric lenses and dynamic electro-active elements offer excellent depth of field and image quality while providing high optical throughput. An exemplary implantable ophthalmic device includes an aspheric lens with a negative spherical aberration that varies with radius. The aspheric lens can have peak optical powers at its geometric centers surrounded by a region of varying optical power (with varying slope) that extends radially from its center. When implanted, these aspheric lenses provide an incremental optical power that varies as a function of pupil diameter, which changes with object distance, for viewing far, intermediate, and near objects. The aspheric lens may also bonded or integrally formed with a spherical lens that provides fixed optical power for viewing far objects and/or a dynamic electro-active element that with two or more states (e.g., on and off) for increasing the effective optical power when viewing near objects.

Abstract: A sensor system includes at least two sensors for distinguishing accommodative stimuli from changes in ambient lights levels and task-induced changes in the pupil diameter. When implanted, the first sensor is disposed completely within the pupil; even when fully constricted, the pupil does not occlude the first sensor, allowing the sensor to make precise measurements of ambient luminous flux levels. The pupil occludes part of the second sensor's active area(s) as the pupil dilates and constricts. As a result, the second sensor measures both ambient luminous flux and pupil diameter. A processor estimates the pupil diameter and determines whether it's changing in response to accommodative stimuli or other factors by comparing to predetermined values. The sensor system sends a signal to an optical component, which in turn can respond by changing optical power to focus for near vision upon detection of accommodative stimuli.

Abstract: Aspects of the present invention provide progressive addition lenses (PALs) and techniques for designing PALs that result in improved visual performance for the wearer. PALs of the present invention can have vision zones with widths that are more in line with the actual or functional sizes used by wearers. PALs of the present invention can also introduce controlled amounts of unwanted astigmatism into one or more vision zones. By allowing vision zones to include manageable levels of astigmatism, the resulting PAL can avoid the harsh build-up of astigmatism typically found in conventional PALs at the periphery of the channel and viewing zones. Further, PALs of the present invention can be designed using a merit function to achieve an optimized iterative design that accounts for astigmatism vector orientation and not simply astigmatism magnitude as is the case with conventional PAL design.

Abstract: Many modern implantable ophthalmic devices include electronic components, such as electro-active cells, that can leak harmful substances into the eye and/or surrounding tissue. In the implantable ophthalmic devices disclosed herein, electronic components are hermetically scaled within cavities formed by bonding together two or more glass wafers. Bonding the glass wafers together with laser fusion bonding, pressure bonding, or anodic bonding creates a seal that leaks at a rate of less than about 5×10?12 Pa m3 s?1 when subjected to a helium leak test. Hermetically sealed feedthroughs formed of conductive material running through channels in the wafers provide electrical connections to components inside the sealed cavities. In some cases, the conductive material has a coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) that is roughly equal to (e.g., within 10% of) the CTE of the glass wafers to minimize leakage due to thermally induced expansion and contraction of the conductive material and the glass wafer.

Abstract: Astigmatism is an optical aberration that displaces the eye's vertical focal plane with respect to its horizontal focal plane. This displacement in focal planes, which may be caused by an irregularly shaped cornea and/or crystalline lens, causes images to appear blurry. Astigmatism can be corrected by implanting an optic, such as section of a spherical lens, whose projection onto a plane perpendicular to the optical axis is noncircular (e.g., rectangular or elliptical). Because the optic is noncircular, it provides more optical power along one axis than along another axis. As a result, it introduces an astigmatism that can be used to offset or compensate the eye's corneal and/or lenticular astigmatism when aligned properly with respect to the principal meridians of the cornea and/or crystalline lens.

Abstract: Aspects of the present invention provide multifocal ophthalmic lenses—for example, an ophthalmic lens having a progressive addition optical power region—having one or more discontinuities. The discontinuities can be used to merge or connect regions of the lens surface having different curvatures or average optical power. The use of discontinuities can obviate the need for blend zones which are largely responsible for the introduction of unwanted astigmatism in conventional lenses. In turn, a multifocal ophthalmic lens of the present invention can provide a desired additive power with less unwanted astigmatism than a conventional progressive addition lens (PAL).

Abstract: An optical and mechanical design of a sealed, non-round fluid-filled lens capable of providing variation of optical power. The fluid lens includes at least three optical components: at least one mostly rigid optical disc, at least one mostly flexible optical membrane and a layer of a transparent fluid that is in communication via a fluid channel with a reservoir of excess fluid contained in a reservoir that can be accessed to augment the fluid volume inside the fluid lens to change the power of the fluid lens. The fluid lens is capable of providing correction of spherical and astigmatic errors, and utilizes contoured membranes to minimize image aberrations.

Abstract: An ophthalmic lens including an electro-active optical element including a substrate; a liquid crystalline material; and at least one first layer. The at least one first layer can include a layer of silicon oxide (SiOx) disposed between the liquid crystalline material and the substrate, and deposited onto a surface of the substrate at an oblique angle in reference to a plane normal to the mean surface of the substrate facing the liquid crystalline material.

Abstract: A variable focus optical apparatus including a rigid, curved, transparent optical component; two transparent, distensible membranes attached to a periphery of the rigid optical component to define two cavities, a first cavity between the rigid optical component and a first membrane and a second cavity between the first membrane and a second membrane; and a variable amount of fluid filling each of the cavities, and a reservoir containing additional fluid and in fluid communication with the cavity, wherein the reservoir is configured to provide injection of fluid into the cavity or withdrawal of fluid out of the cavity in response to a force or an impulse.

Abstract: An electro-active optical cell is described including a layer of electro-active material, a front glass substrate member, and a back glass substrate member. The optical cell is capable of independently providing changeable optical power with the application of an electrical potential. The cell is also configured to be affixed to an external surface of a plastic substrate and to provide the changeable optical power, with at least one of the front substrate or the back substrate of the optical cell being an outermost optical layer. The layer of electro-active material may have a thickness less than 10 ?m, and the glass substrate members may each have a thickness approximately between 20 ?m and 500 ?m.

Abstract: In an embodiment, a hinge for a fluid-filled lens assembly includes a base having a first end configured to connect to a temple arm of the lens assembly and a second end configured to connect to a frame of the lens assembly, wherein the base includes a gap that is shaped to allow for tubing to pass from the first end to the second end of the base. In an embodiment, the first end of the base includes a cammed surface configured to engage a surface of the temple arm. In an embodiment, the first and second ends of the base are configured to flex around a rotation axis of the hinge.

Abstract: Ophthalmic lenses are described including a deformable layer and a deformable membrane disposed opposite the deformable layer. The lens is configured with at least two regions of adjustable optical power, such as by using a patterned electrode which is used to drive the membrane move axially along an optical path of the lens. A surface of the deformable layer is configured to expand and/or contract based on movement of the membrane along the optical path of the lens, such as by bonding one side of the deformable layer to the membrane and bonding the other side to a fixed optical element layer.