Multi focus contacts allow the wearer to see both near and distant objects, as well as everything in between. Although some wearers must take time to become accustomed to them, their performance is quite good for those with complicated eyesight problems.

Benefits

Multi focus contact lenses are substitutes for reading glasses and distance glasses, allowing the wearer to use only one pair of lenses for all activities, from reading a menu to driving a car.

How They Work

The science of the multi focus lens is its near-vision correction in the center, which gradually diminishes toward the outer rim of the lens for distance vision correction.

Considerations

Multi focus lenses are often preferred over bifocals because the ranges of vision correction are seamless in multi focus lenses, making the eyes transition more smoothly from near to far objects.

Presbyopia

Multi focal lenses are often chosen by individuals with presbyopia--a condition associated with aging that makes it difficult for the eyes to focus on near objects--as they offer correction for near vision problems without sacrificing distance vision. And the wearer no longer has to carry reading glasses everywhere.

Considerations

For many wearers, it takes time to adapt to multi focus lenses--initially it can be slightly disorienting when the wearer uses peripheral vision for seeing close up, or attempts to see a distance object with the center of the eye where the lens corrects near vision.

Source:

Q&A on Bifocal Contact Lenses and Monovision; Burt Dubow, OD and Charles Slonim, MD; Jan 2009

Bausch & Lomb Soflens Multi Focal Contacts; 2009

Bifocal and Multifocal Contact Lenses from Lens Design Ltd.; 2007