Patent ID: 8568626

Claim:
A method for making a silicone hydrogel contact lens, comprising a step of: polymerizing a prepolymer mixture in a lens mold in an atmosphere having less than about 10000 ppm oxygen to form a silicone hydrogel contact lens suitable for extended wear as characterized by having on-eye movement with blinking and producing less than 10% corneal swelling after a period of continuous wear of 7 days including normal sleep periods, wherein the prepolymer mixture comprises (a) at least one oxyperm material containing hydrophilic groups, wherein the at least one oxyperm material is a siloxane-containing macromer or monomer; (b) at least one ionoperm material selected from the group consisting of acrylates, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate, acrylamide, methacrylamide, dimethylacrylate, poly(ethyleneglycol), N-vinylpyrrolidone, and mixtures thereof, and (c) a cross-linking agent, and the method further comprising extracting the silicone hydrogel contact lens with a solvent to remove unreacted monomers, wherein the mold includes at least two mold halves.