Corneal Refractive Therapy

Orthokeratology/Contact Lenses That Correct Vision

Wouldn't it be great if your nearsightedness could be corrected while you sleep? It might sound far-fetched, but it's a reality for some people. It's called orthokeratology, or ortho-k, and it is available throughout the country.

Here's how it works: When you sleep, you wear special contact lenses that gently reshape the surface of your eye, so you can see clearly even after you remove the lenses. The effect is temporary — generally enough to get you through a day or so, but you must wear the special lenses each night.

Refractive therapy also known as Orthokeratology (Ortho-K) is a non-surgical process that reshapes the cornea (the window of the eye) using a custom designed reverse geometry contact lens. A reverse geometry design differs from the traditional contact lens design in that the lens is flatter in the center and becomes more curved in the periphery. Customized aspheric curves that match your cornea are applied put on the back of the contact lens. The center of the lens gently applies pressure to the central cornea making it flatter.

The process is painless and by accurately controlling the corneal flattening it's possible to bring the eye in to correct focus and compensate for myopia (nearsightedness) and small amounts of astigmatism. At this point in time orthokeratology will not correct for hyperopia (farsightedness). After removal of the contact lens the cornea retains its flattened shape for most of or all the remainder of the day.

Similar in appearance to standard contact lenses, Paragon CRT therapeutic lenses gently reshape the corneal surface during sleep and provide clear, natural vision when the lenses are removed upon waking.

Because Paragon CRT offers freedom from glasses and the hassle of wearing contact lenses during the day, this leading-edge technology can enhance the lifestyle of those requiring vision correction. Active individuals can freely participate in sports without the interference of glasses or bother of contacts. Eye irritation or dryness, sometimes associated with contact lens wear due to outside dust and pollutants, is eliminated.