Edge shape and comfort of rigid lenses.

One of the main factors determining the comfort of a rigid contact lens is the shape of the edge. The comfort of four different contact lens edge shapes was assessed with four unadapted subjects in a randomized masked trial. Lenses with well rounded anterior edge profiles were found to be significantly more comfortable than lenses with square anterior edges. There was no significant difference in subjective comfort between a rounded and square posterior edge profile. The results suggest that the interaction of the edge with the eyelid is more important in determining comfort than edge effects on the cornea, when lenses are fitted according to a corneal alignment philosophy.