Actor Paddy Considine, who was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome in 2010, recently realized he also suffers from Irlen syndrome. Often accompanied by behavioral or learning disorders, Irlen syndrome is caused by the brain’s improper processing of light waves, effecting behavior, attention, concentration and more. Read more…

An optometrist from the Shekhar Eye Research Center in India has developed the world’s first contact lenses made with gold and diamonds.

Valued at $15,000, the sparkly contact lenses are oxygen permeable and can be customized for vision correction. Read more…

Metro Optics has launched new custom RevitalEyes Post-Surgical silicone hydrogel contact lenses. The lenses are specially designed for eyes that have undergone refractive surgery.

Made with Definitive silicone hydrogel material designed for custom contact lens applications, RevitalEyes Post-Surgical contacts can be custom-made to each patient’s individual needs, much like rigid gas permeable contact lenses. Read more…

KeraSoft custom contact lenses will become available globally this year, says Bausch + Lomb.

These made-to-order soft contacts are designed for the correction of keratoconus and other corneal irregularities — problems that previously could be corrected only with rigid gas permeable contacts, hybrid contact lenses or eye surgery. Read more…

Unilens Vision Inc. has launched the C-Vue Advanced HydraVue line of silicone hydrogel custom contact lenses, for monthly replacement.

The new custom contacts include made-to-order single vision and toric single vision options for correction of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, and multifocal and toric multifocal designs for correction of presbyopia and presbyopia with astigmatism. Read more…

If you’ve been wanting to wear silicone hydrogel contact lenses but couldn’t because they weren’t available in your prescription, your wait is over: Custom-made silicone hydrogel lenses are now available in the United States.

The 2002 introduction of lenses made from new-generation silicone hydrogel materials was welcomed by contact lens wearers and eyecare practitioners alike, because silicone hydrogel lenses deliver more oxygen to the eye than traditional hydrogel lenses, which can mean improved comfort and better eye health.

But until now, silicone hydrogel lenses have come only in limited sizes from manufacturers such as Bausch + Lomb, CIBA Vision, Johnson & Johnson and CooperVision. If you have an unusual prescription, such as one with very high amounts of astigmatism, silicone hydrogels weren’t an option for you.

Now Contamac, a U.K.-based supplier of contact lens materials, has FDA approval for a silicone hydrogel material that they’ll be supplying to smaller U.S. lens manufacturers who can fabricate custom lenses. Read more…

After years of wearing your contact lenses comfortably, you might be dismayed to learn that your favorite brand has been discontinued.

If you don’t want to change what has worked so well for you, you might consider a new program by Alden Optical that provides custom-made contact lenses as duplicates for your preferred brand.

Alden Optical President Tom Shone told Contact Lens Headlines that the cost may be about the same in certain cases as what you paid when your favorite contact lenses were available commercially.

Even when custom contact lenses are more expensive, certain contact lens wearers may have special needs that can be met only by a discontinued brand. Read more…