A local technology company that intends to create custom-made contact lenses completed a study that deemed its product consumer-ready.

WaveSource Inc. got a $110,000 grant in 2013 to conduct research to support the idea that its custom contact lenses work better than the current consumer brand. The grant, which came from the Montana Board of Research, allowed the company to study its custom-made contact lenses in six different sites across the country in approximately 60 different cases.

“We fund projects that would potentially have commercial applications,” Montana Board of Research Executive Director David Desch said. “We deem a project successful if it turns out to have commercial applications, and it appears that their research does.”

The funding allowed WaveSource to move forward with innovative eye examinations that test whether custom-fitted contacts with a focal point centered in the wearer’s pupil work better than a generic contact with a focal point in the center of the lens.

“We submitted out research in August, and the results were remarkable,” said Steve Dunn, chief technology officer with the project. “We found that 59 of the 60 tested cases saw improvement, which was beyond my expectations. It was a grand slam of optics.”

During the study, life-long contact wearers had their vision tested during two office visits. During the first, they wore their old, generically made lenses. After that, WaveSource used modern technology the company had previously developed to find the exact center of the pupil, and built specialized contacts for the wearer. On the second visit, the wearer was tested again, after using the custom lenses

 for several weeks. According to the study, the vast majority of the cases saw incredible improvement.

According to the grant description, “commercially available multifocal contact lenses do not correct higher-order optical aberrations of the eye and have limited success (typically less than 30 percent success rate) in providing acceptable distance and near vision correction.”

In response, WaveSource developed a new process comprised of both software and a manufacturing system to produce “individually optimized contact lenses capable of correcting lower-order vision components (sphere and astigmatism) as well as currently uncorrected higher-order aberrations.”

The idea is to combine the new system with WaveSource’s existing patented multifocal lens design and simplified fitting system, to provide the wearer a more comfortable fit, as well as better visual performance.

Now, according to the company, they are faced with the task of commercializing their product.

“They have the research and data to back up their claims,” Desch said. “Now the next step for them is to take that data and find out how to market it.”

WaveSource is pursuing partnerships with significant businesses and manufacturers to help push its data into the commercial market.

“When it comes to marketing, we suck,” Dunn said simply. “We need to find a way to get off the ground.”

Company officials cannot reveal who they plan to partner with until the deal is finalized; however, they are hopeful that larger businesses in the industry will help them to commercialize their idea.

“We’re looking for companies or people with executive experience in the industry,” said Joseph Thomas, a member of the executive WaveSource team.

WaveSource Inc. was formed in 2004 as a way to commercialize its inventions related to the design and manufacture of contact lenses. The hope is that the technology founded at the company will be sold worldwide, bringing new money into the U.S., and creating valuable new, high-paying jobs.

For more information on the product, visit the website at www.waveformlenses.com, or to become involved in the project, contact Board Chairman Dr. Marc Lorenzen at 406-407-0958, or by email, at marclorenzen@centurytel.net

Reporter Brianna Loper may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at bloper@dailyinterlake.com.