Peripheral scleral lens modifications and tear exchange

Asif Iqbal; Damien Fisher; David Alonso-Caneiro; Michael J Collins; Stephen J Vincent

doi:10.1016/j.clae.2026.102617

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Peripheral scleral lens modifications and tear exchange

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Peripheral scleral lens modifications and tear exchange

Asif Iqbal, Damien Fisher, David Alonso-Caneiro, Michael J Collins and Stephen J Vincent

Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, Vol.49(2), pp.1-6

2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clae.2026.102617

PMID: 41534439

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Abstract

Channel

Notch

Peripheral lens modification

Profilometry

Scleral lens

Tear exchange

Purpose To quantify the effect of landing zone modifications on tear exchange during short-term scleral lens wear. Methods Nine healthy adults with normal corneas wore scleral lenses with three different landing zone modifications (toric landing zone (control condition), peripheral notches, or channels) in a randomised order. Following the application of 10 µl of 2 % sodium fluorescein, Eye Surface Profiler (ESP) images were captured over a period of 100 min. Sodium fluorescein was reapplied at 90 min to assess tear exchange following lens settling. Central and peripheral fluorescent intensity data (quantified in arbitrary units, AU) were extracted from the ESP and analysed using customised software in MATLAB. Results Fluorescent intensity varied significantly with lens design, time, and corneal location (p < 0.001). Averaged across all time points, the channel design displayed a higher level of fluorescent intensity (22 ± 2 AU) compared to the toric control (19 ± 1 AU) (p < 0.01) and notch designs (18 ± 1 AU) (p < 0.001). Following the reapplication of sodium fluorescein after 90 min of lens wear, the channel design also displayed a greater increase in fluorescent intensity ten minutes later (15 ± 3 AU increase) compared to the toric (10 ± 5 AU increase) and notch design (12 ± 5 AU increase) averaged across both central and peripheral locations (groove > toric and notch, both p < 0.05). Conclusions Landing zone modifications influence tear dynamics during short-term scleral lens wear. The channel design provided a consistent increase in tear ingress, mainly in the periphery. These findings provide quantitative evidence that channel modifications can enhance tear exchange in the short-term and may inform future innovations in scleral lens customisation.

Details

Title: Peripheral scleral lens modifications and tear exchange
Authors: Asif Iqbal (Corresponding Author) - Queensland University of Technology
Damien Fisher - Queensland University of Technology
David Alonso-Caneiro - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Michael J Collins - Queensland University of Technology
Stephen J Vincent - Queensland University of Technology
Publication details: Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, Vol.49(2), pp.1-6
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date published: 2025
DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2026.102617
ISSN: 1476-5411
PMID: 41534439
Copyright note: © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Contact Lens Association. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Grant note: Asif Iqbal was funded by QUT Postgraduate Research Award PhD scholarship and Dorothy Carlborg Research Award from the Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Australia.
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991199924902621
Output Type: Journal article

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