Scan-Based Scleral Lenses for Keratoconus

Understanding Scan-Based Scleral Lenses

Scan-Based Scleral Lenses represent a significant technological advancement in the treatment of keratoconus and other irregular corneal conditions. These lenses are crafted using advanced corneo-scleral topography, which creates a highly detailed 3D map of the eye’s shape. This data-driven design process allows for greater customization and a more precise fit than traditional scleral lenses.

Benefits of Scan-Based Scleral Lenses

These lenses offer unparalleled stability, comfort, and vision by using thousands of data points to create a lens tailored to your unique eye shape. This allows for a better seal, improved centration, and fewer fitting issues. Patients experience enhanced vision quality and longer comfortable wear times, particularly those who have not succeeded with other lens types.

How Scan-Based Scleral Lenses Work

Using cutting-edge imaging devices like scleral profilometers, we scan the entire front surface of your eye—including the cornea and sclera. This information is used to digitally design a lens that mirrors the eye’s contours. The result is a lens that vaults irregular areas evenly and maintains a consistent tear reservoir for hydration and clarity.

Customization and Fitting

The fitting process for scan-based lenses is efficient and highly accurate. By reducing the guesswork involved in traditional trial lens fitting, patients often require fewer visits and achieve optimal results faster. This is especially beneficial for patients with complex corneal anatomy, including those with advanced keratoconus, post-LASIK ectasia, or transplant grafts.

Long-term Use and Care

With proper care, scan-based scleral lenses can be worn comfortably for up to a year before needing replacement. Patients are guided on cleaning, storing, and applying the lenses using preservative-free solutions to maintain both lens performance and ocular health. Regular checkups ensure continued success and early identification of any changes in the eye.

Considerations and Advantages

Patients who have struggled with traditional contact lenses or have been told they are not candidates for scleral lenses often find success with scan-based options. These lenses eliminate many of the pitfalls of standard fitting techniques, offering a more predictable and effective treatment outcome for keratoconus.

The Evolution of Keratoconus Contact Lens Technology

While Hybrid lenses are still a viable option for many, advancements in contact lens technology have introduced a variety of alternatives that cater to different needs and preferences. Today, keratoconus patients can choose from several innovative types of lenses, including:

• RGP Lenses: Rigid Gas Permeable lenses provide a durable, stable fit, maintaining shape on the eye to correct the irregular corneal surface of keratoconus, offering sharp, clear vision.
• SynergEyes Hybrid Lenses: These combine a rigid center with a soft lens perimeter, offering the clarity of RGPs with the comfort of soft lenses.
• Scleral Lenses: Larger in diameter than traditional contact lenses, scleral lenses vault over the cornea and rest on the sclera, providing excellent comfort and stable vision.
• Scan-Based Scleral Lenses: These lenses use corneo-scleral topography to map the shape of the eye in three dimensions. This detailed scan allows for incredibly precise fittings, resulting in exceptional comfort and vision quality.
• Custom Wavefront Scleral Lenses: These lenses incorporate wavefront technology to correct not just basic refractive errors, but also higher-order aberrations (HOAs), such as coma and trefoil, improving both sharpness and contrast.
• Impression-Based Scleral Lenses: Ideal for highly irregular or post-surgical eyes, these lenses are made from a mold of your eye’s exact contours—similar to a dental impression—offering a true custom fit when other lenses fail.
• PROSE Lenses: Customized prosthetic devices that help maintain a healthy ocular surface and improve vision.
• EyePrint PRO Lenses: Tailored specifically to the unique contours of the patient’s eye, offering a precise fit for those with highly irregular corneas.

Many keratoconus patients report difficulty with night driving due to symptoms like glare, halos, starbursts, and ghosting caused by higher-order aberrations. Advanced scleral lenses—especially those designed with wavefront or impression-based technology—can significantly reduce or even eliminate these visual disturbances, improving clarity and safety at night.

Our Approach to Keratoconus Contact Lenses

At our practice, we specialize in highly customized contact lenses for keratoconus. Many of our patients come to us after unsuccessful attempts with other providers. Through innovative designs like scan-based scleral lenses, we are able to provide functional, clear vision without surgery.

We treat not only keratoconus but also complex cases such as post-surgical corneas, grafts, corneal scars, and dry eye conditions. Our mission is to help you achieve the best possible vision and improve your daily quality of life.

Choosing the Right Lens for You

Each patient’s cornea is unique. During your comprehensive evaluation, we’ll determine whether scan-based scleral lenses—or another advanced option—is best suited for your needs.

Dr. Irwin Azman and Dr. Benjamin Azman, Keratoconus Specialists, prescribe scan-based lenses for a variety of hard-to-fit eyes, including patients with Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, Radial Keratotomy / LASIK Complications, Keratoconus, Corneal Ectasia, post-surgical vision loss, Pellucid Marginal Degeneration, and other irregular corneas.

Dr. Azman, one of the country’s top Keratoconus Specialists, does not shy away from the most complex cases.