The Use of Extended Wear Contact Lenses in the Aviation Environment: An Army-wide Study.
Abstract
Standard refractive error correction options for the M-43 protective mask have proven to be incompatible with the Helmet Display Unit (HDU) component of the AH-64 Apache Integrated Helmet and Display Sighting System (IHADSS). Glue-on and outsert packages push the HDU, a Maxwellian- view virtual imaging system, far enough from the spectacle-,earing aviator's eye to significantly reduce the available field-of-view. Consequently, portions of critical peripheral instrumentation and weapon system overlays cannot be visualized. In November 1988, the U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) initiated the AH-64 contact lens research protocol to provide both an interim readiness fix and to develop a comprehensive database on contact lens wear in a variety of environments. The protocol was organized from three perspectives with concerns directed toward operational and flight safety, ocular health, and corneal physiology issues, and concluded at the end of September 1991. Fundamental operational and safety data were chronicled, along with written questionnaires, to assess subjective effectiveness of routine contact lens use. ocular health complications were collated from the aviation medicine, optometric, and ophthalmological communities. Clinical and physiological data were gathered by one USAARL optometrist, and two contract civilian optometrists and their supporting technicians.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA260938
Entities
People
- Morris R. Lattimore
- Rhonda L. Cornum
Organizations
- United States Army Aeromedical Research Lab