Adjustable Focus Lenses for Respiratory Protection

A low-cost, adjustable optical-correction technology will be developed for integration with AVON M50 respiratory protective masks, allowing forfast, adjustable vision correction. Variable-focus lenses will be designed using 3D freeform gradient index materials, which allow both opticalpower and geometric and chromatic aberrations corrections to be achieved in planar films. A Phase I prototype will designed and fabricated,which will provide adjustable vision correction from -5 to +5 diopters (threshold; objective: -9 to +9 diopters) with response time <1 second(threshold; objective: 100 ms). Temperature stability and mechanical properties of the lens will also be demonstrated, and prototype mounting andelectro-mechanical or magnetic adjustments will be developed and demonstrated in the AVON mask. In Phase II, the design will be optimized foruse in the visor, clear outset, or vision correction assembly, and optics will be tested on human subjects, before field tests and reliability andenvironment tests are performed.