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Metasurface-Based Contact Lenses Could Correct Red-Green Color Blindness

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A custom contact lens could offer a convenient way to help people who experience color blindness.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) embedded large-scale, plasmonic metasurfaces into off-the-shelf contact lenses and studied the ability of the contacts to serve as visual aids for color vision deficiency. Based on simulations, the researchers observed that their metasurface-based contact lens could restore lost color contrast and improve color perception up to a factor of 10.

The study specifically addressed deuteranomaly, a condition in which the photoreceptor responsible for detecting green light responds to light associated with redder colors. This vision problem is correctable, but challenging to correct with a comfortable, compact device.

“Glasses based on this correction concept are commercially available; however, they are significantly bulkier than contact lenses,” researcher Sharon Karepov said. “Because the proposed optical element is ultrathin and can be embedded into any rigid contact lens, both deuteranomaly and other vision disorders such as refractive errors can be treated within a single contact lens.”

Metasurface-based contact lenses correct color vision deficiency, Tel Aviv University.

These images illustrate the effect a metasurface-based contact lens would have on a person with deuteranomaly. The left image shows the original scenario while the middle image is how the scene would look to a person with deuteranomaly. The image on the right represents the scene viewed with deuteranomaly and corrected with the new contact lenses. Courtesy of Sharon Karepov, Tel Aviv University.


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The researchers developed a technique to transfer metasurfaces from their initial flat substrates to curved surfaces such as contact lenses. They tested the optical response of the metasurface after every step of the new fabrication procedure and acquired microscopy images to examine the structure of the metasurface. Their measurements showed that the metasurface’s light manipulation properties did not change after transfer to the curved surface, indicating that the fabrication process was successful.

The researchers then used a standard simulation of color perception to quantify the deuteranomaly color perception before and after introducing the optical element. They found an improvement of up to a factor of 10 and showed that visual contrast lost due to deuteranomaly was essentially fully restored.

Although clinical testing would be needed before the contact lenses could be marketed, the researchers said that manufacturers could embed the metasurface during the molding stage of contact lens fabrication or thermally fuse the metasurface to a rigid contact lens. They plan to keep studying and improving the metasurface transfer process. The new fabrication process could be used to embed metasurfaces into other nonflat substrates as well, Karepov said.

The research was published in Optics Letters, a publication of OSA, The Optical Society (www.doi.org/10.1364/OL.384970).

Published: March 2020
Glossary
ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is a branch of medicine that focuses on the anatomy, physiology, and diseases of the eyes and visual system. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of eye disorders and diseases. They are trained to provide comprehensive eye care, including medical, surgical, and optical interventions. Key areas within ophthalmology include: General eye care: Ophthalmologists perform routine eye examinations to assess visual acuity,...
nano
An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically, plasmonics deals with the collective oscillations of these free electrons, known as surface plasmons, which can confine and manipulate light on the nanometer scale. Surface plasmons are formed when incident photons couple with the conduction electrons at the interface between a metal or semiconductor...
metalens
A metalens, short for "metasurface lens," is a type of optical lens that uses nanostructured materials to manipulate light at a subwavelength scale. Unlike traditional lenses made of glass or other transparent materials, metalenses do not rely on the curvature of their surface to refract or focus light. Instead, they use carefully engineered patterns of nanostructures, such as nanoscale antennas or dielectric structures, to control the phase and amplitude of light across the lens's surface....
Research & TechnologyeducationEuropeTel Aviv Universitycontact lensesMaterialsmaterials processingOpticslensesBiophotonicsophthalmologymedicalnanometasurfaceplasmonicsmetalensoptical designoptical fabricationCOTS lensesTech Pulse

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