editor's perspective
20 Years of Contact Lens Spectrum
BY
JOSEPH T. BARR, OD, MS, FAAO, EDITOR
I
remember receiving my first Contact Lens
Spectrum in the summer of 1986. I knew that Neal Bailey, OD, PhD, its founding
editor, had left Contact Lens Forum (which was later incorporated into Contact
Lens Spectrum) with a group of experienced trade journal publishers to start
this new publication and another called EyeCare Business. Since then, Contact
Lens Spectrum has had at least five publishers and is now owned and operated
by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins VisionCare Group, a division of Wolters Kluwer
Health Inc.
In this issue we feature a special 20th Anniversary section beginning
on p. 28. We intend to chronicle the major events of the last 20 years of contact
lens history, and we intend to pay tribute to Neal Bailey, the person who guided
us to, as he often said, "let them tell their version of the truth about contact
lenses." We'll discuss what has happened these past two decades, especially the
most significant events. We'll have some of the experts in our field give their
perspectives of what contact lens milestones of the last 20 years have been most
important and why.
Lawsuits occurred in past decades, but during this decade one
lawsuit actually halted the progress of one manufacturer, and we have now witnessed
an unprecedented removal of a major lens care product from our market. Quality mass
production of soft contact lenses has particularly influenced the past 20 years
in the industry, leading to disposable lenses replaced initially on a weekly schedule
and now on schedules ranging from daily to two-week to monthly, depending upon the
lens itself, how it's marketed, the belief of the practitioner or the needs of the
patient. Another major event of the last 20 years was the introduction of very high-Dk
materials, both silicone hydrogel and GP, and the reapproval and reintroduction
of 30-day continuous wear contact lenses.
We thank everyone who contributed to this issue of Contact
Lens Spectrum, and we again express our sincere appreciation to all who have
contributed to this publication in the past.
Contact Lens Spectrum, Issue: June 2006