Contact Lenses That can Shade the sun Received FDA Approval

The Acuvue Oasys Contact Lenses that could reportedly shade the sun have received the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration.

According to reports, the contact lenses, which are developed by Johnson & Johnson’s subsidiary company Vistakon, use an additive that allows the lenses to darken when exposed to bright light.

The product, which is known as Acuvue Oasys Contact Lenses with Transitions Light Intelligent Technology, is the first of its kind to use light-adaptive technology. It is designed for daily use to help correct the vision of people who are nearsighted or farsighted. People with certain degrees of astigmatism could also use it.

“This contact lens is the first of its kind to incorporate the same technology that is used in eyeglasses that automatically darken in the sun,” Malvina Eydelman, director of the ophthalmic, ear, nose, and throat devices division at the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said.

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The contact lenses have a photochromic additive that can adapt to the amount of visible light filtered to the eye depending on the amount of ultraviolet light exposure. The effect slightly darkens the lenses in bright sunlight, returning to its regular tint in standard lighting.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 40 million Americans used contact lenses back in 2014. FDA‘s approval was based on the research that includes a clinical study evaluating nighttime and daytime driving performance of 24 people using contact lenses.

The findings show that those who wore the lenses had not encountered any vision or driving problems. However, FDA noted that the lenses should not be used by people with particular eye problems like inflammation or infection and those with eye diseases or injuries.

Will you buy a pair of these contact lenses?