Contact lens comfort has always been of paramount importance, and manufacturers have spent a great deal of time and money to continually improve it. Problems such as dry eyes have frequently been a challenge to eye care practitioners, but with new developments the trend seems to be developing better alternatives.

The laws of nature dictate that water goes from where it is to where it is not. As such, most soft contact lenses will dry out with dry eyes because they are made of approximately 50% water. In contrast, Rigid Gas Permeable contacts are made with a fraction of that and accordingly will dry out much less. This results in much better, and longer lasting comfort. However, there are still issues that must be considered. The first is edge design. By redesigning the peripheral curves of the lens to better increase tear flow and exchange under the lens as well as the bearing on the cornea, greater comfort can be achieved. The second is the surface of the lens. Different materials have been used to better decrease the wetting angle and thus improve the wettability of the lens. This in turn will improve oxygen permeability and therefore comfort and ocular health.

To that end, RGP Plasma treatment has been developed. Plasma treatment alters the surface properties of the lens making it more water loving, and more oxygen permeable. The process involves placing the lens in a vacuum chamber, and exposing it to highly pressurized ionized cold gasses that remove all contaminants and chemical residues from the lens surface. This process lowers the wetting angle increasing the wettability of the lens. Patient comfort and ocular health dramatically improve as well.

This improved contact lens state does not last for ever and will vary depending on handling of the lens, and solutions used. The process can be repeated as needed as long as the lens is in good condition. This treatment in addition to the newer gas permeable materials has proven to be a huge step forward in contact lens technology.