AEROMEDICAL ASPECTS OF CONTACT LENSES (SOFT AND SEMISOFT)

A comprehensive clinical study on the effects of various aviation stresses on soft and semisoft contact lenses was carried out to find out their compatibility in aviation environment. Twenty subjects (11 aircrew and 9 non air-crew) participated in the study. Twelve of them were given soft lenses of water contents of 38%, 50% and 78% and rest 8 were given semisoft lenses of daily wear and extended wear type. The environmental trial consisted of exposure to hypoxia, rapid decompression, acceleration, pressure breathing, vibration and high temperature. On successful completion of environmental trials on ground simulators, the inflight trials on high performance aircraft, transport aircraft, passenger aircraft and helicopters were conducted. The soft lenses with low, medium and high water contents and extended wear semisoft lenses (large diameter) were found compatible with all types of aircraft flying.KEY WORDS: Aviation stresses, Acceleration, Contact lenses, Hypoxia, Vibration