Forces developed beneath hydrogel contact lenses due to squeeze pressure

The hydrodynamic squeeze pressure in the fluid thin film beneath hydrogel contact lenses fitted onto an axisymmetric model eye were measured. These pressures were due to the contact lens relaxing after deformation by an applied force of similar magnitude to the human eyelid force. The distribution of pressure for contact lenses typically fitted to human eyes was negative with respect to atmospheric pressure at the corneal apex and became less negative at the corneo-scleral limbus. The force that the contact lens applied to the cornea was determined by integrating the pressure distribution from the corneal apex to the limbus. This force varied from 6.0 X 10(-4) N to -7.8 X 10(-1) N depending on the thickness, elastic modulus and bearing relationship of the contact lens. An expression was derived to determine the pressure developed beneath the annulus of the hydrogel contact lens overlapping the cornea, in terms of the measured force over the cornea beneath the contact lens and the chord diameters of the contact lens and cornea. It was found that the deformation of hydrogel contact lenses on the model eye did not follow a linear elastic shell theory.