US Patent 9389434 Contact lenses with improved oxygen transmission

Contact lenses may be designed with locally thinned regions to increase oxygen transmissibility to the eye. The locally thinned regions are preferably positioned outside of the optic zone and in the thicker peripheral zone. For a contact lens formed from a specific material, creating local thinner regions, for example, dimples in the back curve surface of the lens, provides an effective and efficient means for increasing oxygen diffusion.