Study of the frictional behavior of soft contact lenses by an innovative method

摘要

Understanding the Biotribology involved between contact lenses and the eye, namely the friction between the eyelid and the surface of the contact lens during the blink movement, is a crucial factor in avoiding irritation, discomfort and other eye infections. The aim of the present research work is to investigate the tribological behavior of different soft contact lenses under different contact conditions. Since there is no commercially available equipment, a tribometer has been developed for this purpose, which operates with vibration horizontal movement. The friction assessment method is based on the evaluation of the free damping vibration movement, of the mass - spring system. This technique proved to have adequate sensitivity for the biologically relevant conditions, light normal load, high speed and hydrodynamic lubrication.