Contact Lens Manufacturers Lead The Way In The 21st Century

Contact lens manufacturers have invented some astounding new products over the last few years, long after Leonardo da Vinci first conceived the idea of the contact.

In the 1940s, some of the first contact lenses were sold to help those with severe vision problems. Soft contacts were first manufactured in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s, but were hard to maintain and wear. Since then, major steps have been taken. In the 1980s, extended wear soft lenses were introduced and quickly became popular. Daily disposable contact lenses were created in the 1990s, as were gas permeable contact lenses. Modern manufacturers have contributed greatly to the eye care industry.

Major manufacturers, as well as producers of custom lenses, make up the contact lens industry leaders. Major companies include: Johnson & Johnson, Ciba Vision, Cooper Vision, and Bausch & Lomb. Not only major players such as these make up the contact lens industry, small ones do as well. Laboratories that manufacture materials, solutions, equipment, and chemicals also play an important role in the contact lens industry. Such companies include: Accu Lens Inc., Diversified Ophthalmics, Inc., International Contact Lens Labs, Inc., Corneal Design Corporation, Soderberg Contact Lens, and Tru-Form Optics, Inc.

Most manufacturers agree that the two most important advances in recent years have been the gas permeable lenses and the daily disposable lenses. Gas permeable lenses promote high quality optical health by allowing oxygen to pass through the lens to create a better environment for the eye. They resist protein buildup and do not allow bacteria to thrive as they would in previous types of hard lenses. Daily disposables also promote good eye health since they are tossed away after the day's wearing.

When you're in the market for replacement lenses, check out the name brand lenses produced by the top manufacturers.