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Clinical Relevance: This study was carried out to provide advice to eye care practitioners on those soft disposable contact lenses that comply with the Class 1 or Class 2 requirements of the international standard ISO 18369 for ultraviolet radiation protection.Background: This study was carried out to provide advice to eye care practitioners on those soft disposable contact lenses that comply with the Class 1 or Class 2 requirements of the international standard ISO 18369 for ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection and to validate any claims made. It is intended to be used when a patient needs or requests UVR protection. A revised ISO 18369-3 was published in 2017. There is no Australian adoption nor equivalent.Methods: The direct spectral transmittance of three specimens of each of the twenty soft disposable contact lens types available in Australia in 2018 was measured in saline in a quartz cuvette with a dual beam spectrophotometer from 200-780 nm. Transmittance values for each material were averaged and scaled according to a single measurement of its transmittance in the visible spectrum (380-780 nm). Based on the ISO 18369-3:2017 criteria, lens materials were denoted as Class 1, Class 2 or non-UVR protectors. This classification was compared with any claim made by the manufacturer.Results: All claims of the manufacturers for Class 1 or Class 2 were valid. There were no examples of any missed opportunity to make a claim. Some claims were so general as to be untestable. Some numerical claims appeared to hide that only a Class 2 claim could be made.Conclusions: Claims of Class 1 or Class 2 were found to be appropriate. There were no missed opportunities to claim. UV protection claims that were not in the ISO 18369-3 format may be taken as Class 2 compliance but not Class 1 compliance. A two-class system of UV protectors and non-UV protectors may serve practitioners and their patients better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A population based, cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted to estimate the total penetrance of contact lens wear in Australia. Methods: A total of 42,749 households around Australia were randomly selected from the national electronic telephone directory based on postcode distribution. Before contact was attempted, letters of introduction were sent. The number of individuals and contact lens wearers in each household was ascertained and lens wearers were interviewed to determine details of lens type and mode of wear using a structured questionnaire. Results: Of households contacted, 59.2% (19,171/32,405) agreed to participate. Response rates were only marginally higher amongst households that first received a letter of introduction. In these households, 35,914 individuals were identified, of which, 1,798 were contact lens wearers. The penetrance of contact lens wear during the study period was 5.01% (95% CI: 4.78-5.24). Soft hydrogel lenses had the largest penetrance in the community, (66.7% of all wearers), however, their market share decreased significantly over the study period with increased uptake of newly introduced lens types. Conclusions: The penetrance of contact lens wear concurs with market estimates and equates to approximately 680,000 contact lens wearers aged between 15 and 64 years in Australia. The low response rate obtained in this study highlights the difficulty in contemporary use of telephone survey methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides information on a type of contact lens invented by Australian scientists for correcting long-sightedness. Features and functions of the contact lenses; Effectiveness of the lenses; Comparison to traditional contact lenses.