May 2006
Volume 47, Issue 13
Free
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   May 2006
Blinking Patterns and Corneal Staining
M.J. Collins; R. Iskander; R. Gillon; A. Saunders; E. Anthony; S. Hook
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • M.J. Collins
    Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • R. Iskander
    Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • R. Gillon
    Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • A. Saunders
    Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • E. Anthony
    Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • S. Hook
    Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships  M.J. Collins, None; R. Iskander, None; R. Gillon, None; A. Saunders, None; E. Anthony, None; S. Hook, None.
  • Footnotes
    Support  None
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science May 2006, Vol.47, 93. doi:
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      M.J. Collins, R. Iskander, R. Gillon, A. Saunders, E. Anthony, S. Hook; Blinking Patterns and Corneal Staining . Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2006;47(13):93.

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Abstract

Purpose: : Our aim was to investigate the blinking patterns of normal subjects and soft contact lens wearers and determine if these blinking characteristics were associated with corneal fluorescein staining.

Methods: : Fifteen young soft contact lens wearers and eleven young normal subjects participated in the study. The subjects were selected to have no significant eyelid pathology. High–speed filming (100 frames/sec) was used to capture the natural blinking patterns of the subjects for approximately three minutes. Custom written software was used to measure the vertical palpebral aperture at the start and end of the downward motion of the upper eyelid. The vertical gap between the lids at the lowest point of the upper lid movement during each blink was measured (closed palpebral aperture). Corneal fluorescein staining was quantified on a 0 to 4 scale for each subject.

Results: : Closed palpebral apertures in both the normal and soft contact lens wearing subjects showed a wide distribution, with 22% of blinks being incomplete (<2/3 open aperture) in both groups of subjects. In soft contact lens wearers, there was a significant correlation (r2=0.40, p<0.05) between the mean closed palpebral aperture and the grade of corneal staining (primarily located inferiorly). The normal subjects did not show the same degree of correlation (r2=0.16, p>0.1). However the distribution of closed palpebral apertures was significantly different between those subjects with corneal staining compared to those without corneal staining (Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, normals with p=0.002 and soft lens wearers with p<0.001).

Conclusions: : The distribution of closed palpebral apertures of both normal and soft contact lens wearing subjects showed no clear distinction between complete and incomplete blinks. Both groups of subjects show evidence of an association between the mean closed palpebral aperture size (degree of incomplete blinking) and the grade of corneal fluorescein staining, but the association is stronger in soft contact lens wearers.

Keywords: eyelid • contact lens • cornea: tears/tear film/dry eye 
© 2006, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Inc., all rights reserved. Permission to republish any abstract or part of an abstract in any form must be obtained in writing from the ARVO Office prior to publication.
Copyright © 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
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