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 polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

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 An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

and allows copious

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

of the eye over time without continuous attendance by

medical personnel A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

History

The Morgan Lens was developed by Loran B. Morgan, a

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

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

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

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

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

infection An infection is the invasion of tissue (biology), tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host (biology), host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmis ...

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 drop Eye drops or eyedrops are liquid drops applied directly to the surface of the eye usually in small amounts such as a single drop or a few drops. Eye drops usually contain saline to match the salinity of the eye. Drops containing only saline ...

s 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 Vinh () is the capital of Nghệ An province and an economic and cultural center of North-Central Vietnam. A key point in the East–West economic corridor linking Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, the city is situated in the Southeast of ...

, 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 transparency (optics), transparent front part of the eyeball which covers the Iris (anatomy), iris, pupil, and Anterior chamber of eyeball, anterior chamber. Along with the anterior chamber and Lens (anatomy), lens, the cornea ...

and

conjunctiva In the anatomy of the eye, the conjunctiva (: conjunctivae) 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 gobl ...

. 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. ...

(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 nutr ...

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 An eyelid ( ) is a thin fold of skin that covers and protects an eye. The levator palpebrae superioris muscle retracts the eyelid, exposing the cornea to the outside, giving vision. This can be either voluntarily or involuntarily. "Palpebral ...

, 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 a neurological disorder characterized by intermittent, involuntary spasms and contractions of the orbicularis oculi muscle, orbicularis oculi (eyelid) muscles around both eyes. These result in abnormal twitching or blinking, an ...

) 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, thermal burns, irritants (e.g.,

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

detergent A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with Cleanliness, cleansing properties when in Concentration, dilute Solution (chemistry), solutions. There are a large variety of detergents. A common family is the alkylbenzene sulfonate ...

), 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 b ...

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

eye surgery Eye surgery, also known as ophthalmic surgery or ocular surgery, is surgery performed on the eye or its adnexa. Eye surgery is part of ophthalmology and is performed by an ophthalmologist or eye surgeon. The eye is a fragile organ, and require ...

or eyelid surgery, 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 pat ...

contain a Morgan lens.

Manufacture

The Morgan lens is made by MorTan, Inc., which is based in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

, and headed by Dr. Morgan's son, Daniel Morgan, and Judy Devine.Profile from zapconnect.com
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

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