Designing contact lenses for oriental eyes

This study attempts to determine whether a contact lens designed to the parameters of a Caucasian model is equally valid for an Oriental cornea. Sixty-five subjects of similar age and refractive error in each of two groups (Chinese versus English Caucasian) were recruited. Corneal topography, diameter, sensitivity and fragility were measured for all the subjects. Results from this study show that the Chinese eye has a smaller and steeper cornea, with a lower rate of peripheral flattening than in the British eye. Corneal sensitivity is significantly lower than that for the blue-eyed British group. No differences were found between other iris colours or in corneal fragility. These data were used to build a corneal model suitable for contact lens fitting and design in the Chinese population.