The Morgan Lens is a

sterile Sterile or sterility may refer to: *Asepsis, a state of being free from biological contaminants * Sterile (archaeology), a sediment deposit which contains no evidence of human activity *Sterilization (microbiology), any process that eliminates or ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

device resembling a

contact lens Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

connected to tubing that fits over the

eye Eyes are organs of the visual system. They provide living organisms with vision, the ability to receive and process visual detail, as well as enabling several photo response functions that are independent of vision. Eyes detect light and conv ...

and allows copious

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

of the eye over time without continuous attendance by medical personnel.

History

The Morgan Lens was developed by

Loran B. Morgan Loran B. Morgan (October 14, 1918 – November 23, 2009) was a United States ophthalmologist best known as the inventor of the Morgan Lens. Early years, 1918-43 Loran B. Morgan was born in Pipestone, Minnesota on October 14, 1918. the fourth of ...

, a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

.Home page of www.morganlens.com
/ref> During Morgan's third

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

tour as a volunteer physician, he concluded that many serious eye problems developed because fairly simple

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

s had not been treated adequately. Morgan noted that to protect the eye from being severely infected, it was necessary to have a means for steadily delivering sterile fluid or medication to the eye. Morgan noted that, especially in a war zone or an emergency room, medical personnel rarely had the time to continue administering eye drops to a patient continuously for a long enough period of time to thoroughly cleanse an irritated or infected eye. Therefore, in February 1969, in Vinh Long, Morgan molded a simple device for cleaning the eye.Zeke Scher, "The Wyoming Doctor Who Saves Eyes", ''Denver Post'', Feb. 20, 1972
Morgan was familiar with contact lenses (wearing them himself and often prescribing them to his patients), and his first Morgan lens was larger than a modern contact lens, resembling contact lenses of the 1940s. Morgan initially called the device the Therapeutic Lens Corneal, later renaming it the Morgan Medi-Flow Lens. Later versions of the Morgan lens were smaller and contained directional fins.

Function

The Morgan lens provides ocular irrigation or medication to the

cornea The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and lens, the cornea refracts light, accounting for approximately two-thirds of the eye's total optical power ...

and

conjunctiva The conjunctiva is a thin mucous membrane that lines the inside of the eyelids and covers the sclera (the white of the eye). It is composed of non-keratinized, stratified squamous epithelium with goblet cells, stratified columnar epithelium ...

. Once inserted, the Morgan lens floats on the layer of solution it is delivering, never actually touching the cornea. When inserting the Morgan lens, a

topical anesthetic A topical anesthetic is a local anesthetic that is used to numb the surface of a body part. They can be used to numb any area of the skin as well as the front of the eyeball, the inside of the nose, ear or throat, the anus and the genital area. Top ...

(if available) is first applied to the eye.Oregon Health Dept. guide to Morgan Lens
/ref> The Morgan lens is attached to the solution (contained in a bag resembling the bag commonly used in

intravenous therapy Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutri ...

or in a

syringe A syringe is a simple reciprocating pump consisting of a plunger (though in modern syringes, it is actually a piston) that fits tightly within a cylindrical tube called a barrel. The plunger can be linearly pulled and pushed along the inside ...

). After the solution has begun flowing, the medical provider has the patient look down and inserts the lens under the upper eyelid, then has the patient look up and inserts the lens under the lower eyelid. After insertion, which usually takes less than 30 seconds, medical personnel do not need to attend the patient while the Morgan lens cleanses the patient's eye. Also, after insertion, the patient is able to close his or her eyelids while the eye is cleansed. This provides a distinct advantage over manual methods of cleansing the eye (such as inserting eye drops), which require the patient to keep the eye open for an extended period of time and can be very painful to the patient because of an injured patient's natural reaction of closing the eye in response to injury (

blepharospasm Blepharospasm is any abnormal contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle. The condition should be distinguished from the more common, and milder, involuntary quivering of an eyelid, known as myokymia, or fasciculation. In most cases, blepharosp ...

) as well as the increased

light sensitivity Photosensitivity is the amount to which an object reacts upon receiving photons, especially visible light. In medicine, the term is principally used for abnormal reactions of the skin, and two types are distinguished, photoallergy and phototoxicity ...

of injured eyes.

Uses

The Morgan lens can be used in many situations requiring ocular irrigation or the application of medicine to the eye, including cases of

chemical eye burns Chemical eye injury are due to either an acidic or alkali substance getting in the eye. Alkalis are typically worse than acidic burns. Mild burns will produce conjunctivitis while more severe burns may cause the cornea to turn white. Litmus paper ...

, thermal burns, irritants (e.g.,

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...

detergent A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are more ...

), nonembedded

foreign bodies A foreign body (FB) is any object originating outside the body of an organism. In machinery, it can mean any unwanted intruding object. Most references to foreign bodies involve propulsion through natural orifices into hollow organs. Foreign bo ...

, foreign body sensation with no visible foreign body, routine cleansing before

eye surgery Eye surgery, also known as ophthalmic or ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa, by an ophthalmologist or sometimes, an optometrist. Eye surgery is synonymous with ophthalmology. The eye is a very fragile organ, and requ ...

eyelid surgery Blepharoplasty (Greek: ''blepharon'', "eyelid" + ''plassein'' "to form") is the plastic surgery operation for correcting defects, deformities, and disfigurations of the eyelids; and for aesthetically modifying the eye region of the face. With t ...

, or for infections. The Morgan lens is a standard piece of

medical equipment A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

; according to its manufacturer, over 90% of U.S.

emergency rooms An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...

contain a Morgan lens.

Manufacture

The Morgan lens is made by MorTan, Inc., which is based in Missoula, Montana, and headed by Dr. Morgan's son, Daniel Morgan, and Judy Devine.Profile from zapconnect.com
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References

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External links

Official Morgan Lens webpageYouTube video from Morgan Lens manufacturer
Eye Emergency medical equipment Ophthalmic equipment