What question did this study set out to answer?

The study investigates the effect of drying hydrogel contact lenses on low-contrast visual acuity.

April 10, 2026

Short‐Term, Low‐Contrast Visual Acuity Reduction Associated with in Vivo Contact Lens Drying

Key Points

The study investigates the effect of drying hydrogel contact lenses on low-contrast visual acuity.
Measured visual acuity under different conditions: hydrogel lenses, rigid gas permeable lenses, and no lenses.
Included normal blinking and blinking suppression to evaluate acuity changes.
Used a staircase psychophysical procedure with computer-generated stimuli to determine acuity thresholds.
Cessation of blinking caused small acuity reductions for RGP lens wearers (mean loss: 0.1 line) and no lens wearers (mean loss: 0.3 lines).
Hydrogel lens wearers showed significant acuity reduction (mean loss: 4.1 lines) during blinking suppression.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Hydrogel contact lens surfaces partially desiccate during extended interblink intervals, producing a microscopically rough and irregular surface that scatters light. Such light scattering could reduce retinal image contrast, elevating thresholds for target perception. To test this idea, we measured low (7%)‐contrast visual acuity of subjects who wore: (1) hydrogel contact lenses, (2) rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses, and (3) no contact lenses when the subjects blinked normally and when they suppressed blinking. Acuity thresholds were determined using computer‐generated acuity stimuli and a staircase psychophysical procedure. Cessation of blinking resulted in small reductions in lowcontrast acuity for subjects wearing RGP lenses (mean loss: 0.1 line) or no lenses (mean loss: 0.3 lines). Subjects wearing hydrogel lenses, however, generally exhibited substantial reduction of acuity (mean loss: 4.1 lines) when blinking was suppressed.

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