ABSTRACT Oxygen and carbon dioxide profiles were calculated for the open and closed eye covered with a contact lens made of gas permeable polymer. The results show the thickness and oxygen transmissibility required of the oxygen permeable polymer to make it a significant improvement over nonpermeable contact lens materials. The results also show how the oxygen flux across the anterior surface is decreased by the lens, and how the flux from the posterior surface increases thereby maintaining an almost constant total oxygen flux to the cornea.
Fatt et al. (1969) studied this question.