THERE ARE MANY exciting outcomes of artificial intelligence (AI), but perhaps the area of eye care that excites me most is in the customization of contact lenses. AI has the potential to revolutionize the specialty lens market.
Specialty lenses are unique because they are made for the individual using customized parameters to enhance fit, comfort, and vision. In practice, they’re used for irregular corneas, myopia management, vision enhancement beyond traditional lenses, and for altered function due to other disease states.
In nearly every instance of specialty lens evaluation, practitioners can use some sort of computer-generated data system that calculates and analyzes the structure or function of the visual system. Where AI shines is its ability to take data points, match them up over time, and produce an outcome that is more advanced, using millions and billions of data sets.
In the past, challenges with specialty lens fitting have mostly been about getting the best fit on the eye and getting the most complex visual data points where needed. Utilizing topography or profilometry measurements, several companies are already using AI to produce suggested lens fitting parameters.
Even 20 years ago, topographers were utilizing computer-generated fluorescein patterns that were matched with known lens designs to create suggested lens fitting parameters. This technology has continued to evolve and has started to make an impact in more modern topographies.
Now, with the click of a few buttons, practitioners can create a 360º specialty lens design. AI maps out the shape and suggests a lens that the practitioners can then modify based on their experience. These basic AI innovations will progress, especially when finalized lenses are merged with initial design calculations. When AI can learn from the final lens, and that is repeated over millions of data points, the technology will just get better.
AI will also impact “standard” lenses by making them even more specialty. With the use of AI, studies can dig deeper into the specifics of what is happening across large populations. Then, the design of the fit, the parameters of the material, and the visual outcomes can be modulated and adjusted to enhance the overall lens design.
The designs that we have now have limitations in that they only correct for low-order refractive error. With AI, practitioners will be able to more accurately target higher-order aberrations that patients have. That way, practitioners will be able to get closer to the idealized multifocal outcomes that they want to see.
AI specialty soft lenses are in their infancy. They have a long way to go, but they are already here across the globe. It will be exciting to see where we go over the next 12 months to make patients’ lives better.
