Corneal contact lenses: fitting procedures

Historical Significance: Dr. Baldwin, O.D. Ph.D was one of the prominent optometric educators and leaders of the second half of the 20th C. He was President of New England College of Optometry and Dean of the Colleges of Optometry at Pacific University and University of Houston. He received his O.D. from Pacific University, and his doctorate in physiological optics from Indiana University. This book is an early text book in the period when corneal lenses were first taken up in general optometric practice. New York Optometrist William Feinbloom introduced the use of plastic in contact lens manufacturing in 1936. Feinbloom's lenses had a central portion made of glass that covered the cornea and a peripheral band of plastic that covered the sclera. In 1948, California optician Kevin Tuohy began manufacturing contact lenses made completely of plastic. His lenses were smaller in diameter than Feinbloom's lenses, but they still covered the entire cornea. Later the same year, Oregon optometrist George Butterfield improved Tuohy's lens design, adding flatter peripheral curves to the lens so it more closely matched the shape of the cornea and would not pop off so easily. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, hard plastic lenses were made smaller and thinner, evolving into hard lens designs that are still used today