In 1508, Leonardo da Vinci made the first sketches showing how changing the curvature of the eye with a water-filled lens could correct vision. Although Leonardo never built a practical lens, his drawings became the foundation for contact lens science.
In the 1600s, scientists like René Descartes expanded his idea using glass tubes placed on the eye. By the 1800s, blown-glass lenses covering the whole eye were created for medical use.
In the 1900s, soft materials and oxygen-permeable plastics transformed them into comfortable lenses.
Today, Leonardo’s 1508 concept lives on in modern soft lenses, toric lenses, scleral lenses, and advanced technology.
⭐ How many types of contact lenses exist today?
Modern contact lenses fall into seven major categories:
1. Soft Contact Lenses: Daily, monthly, yearly lenses—comfortable and flexible.
2. Toric Lenses are designed to correct astigmatism through stable axis control.
3. Multifocal / Bifocal Lenses For presbyopia, offering distance + near vision together
. 4. Colored & Cosmetic Lenses: Natural-look colours, artistic lenses, or prosthetic cosmetic use.
5. RGP (Rigid Gas Permeable) Lenses: Hard, oxygen-permeable lenses for sharper optical quality.
6. Scleral Lenses Large-diameter lenses that vault the cornea—ideal for keratoconus.
7. Speciality & Medical Lenses o Keratoconus lenses o Post-surgery lenses o Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) night lenses o Prosthetic iris lenses These categories cover all modern clinical needs, from simple vision correction to advanced medical rehabilitation.
