From 2024, Moorfields Eye Hospital’s optometry department will manufacture and issue new scleral contact lenses to patients.
Scleral lenses are rigid gas-permeable contact lenses used to improve comfort and visual acuity as part of corrective therapy for patients that have been affected by an injury or a disorder such as keratoconus, ocular surface disease, and corneal ectasia.
Scleral lenses are larger than average soft contact lenses and are designed to completely cover the cornea and rest on the white part of the eye (the sclera). These lenses are custom designed for each patient in a multi-stage process, and depending on manufacturer and patient complexity, the fitting process for new lenses can take six to eight weeks. By being able to now manufacture lenses in-house, Moorfields’ patients will receive their therapeutic lenses faster thanks to a more efficient treatment process.
This new development has come through a new collaboration between Moorfields Eye Hospital and BostonSight, a non-profit healthcare organisation that advances the treatment of diseased and damaged corneas and dry eye. Moorfields will become the first UK organisation to produce their BostonSight SCLERAL design, which is currently used across the USA, India and Spain.
“Being able to produce these scleral lenses in-house will give our optometrists flexibility to effectively manage ocular surface disease and corneal ecstasia to provide comfort and relief to patients and help improve their vision,” said Sarah Canning, head of optometry at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Sara Yost, BostonSight’s president and CEO, said: “This partnership continues our commitment to ensure no one suffers loss of sight from corneal disease or irregularities and brings us one step closer to a world where everyone who needs a scleral lens can access one.
17 October 2023