Perry Rosenthal


Perry Rosenthal, is a Canadian-born American eye surgeon and professor of ophthalmology, known for his work in the development of the first gas-permeable scleral contact lens.

Education

Following his graduation from McGill University Medical School in May 1958, Rosenthal completed his internship at Montreal General Hospital in 1959. From 1959 until April 1960, he completed a basic science course in ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts. He was a resident in ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary from 1960 to 1963, then joined the infirmary staff.
From 1963 to 1998, he was in private practice, and a staff surgeon at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He was then named to the infirmary's courtesy staff, and, since 2013, has been an emeritus member. Rosenthal has been a part-time Assistant Clinical Professor in Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School since 1984.

Academic work

As a resident at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Rosenthal founded the hospital's contact lens clinic. He subsequently became a co-founder of Polymer Technology Inc., which developed Boston Lens products, including a rigid gas-permeable plastic that allowed the corneas to breathe normally through the contact lenses. The firm was subsequently acquired by Bausch & Lomb, of which Rosenthal became a director. In 1986, he developed a practical, gas-permeable scleral contact lens to treat and restore vision of eyes with many corneal diseases, which ave been widely adopted in clinical practice, He has also published on oculofacial pain, and dry-eye disease.
In 1992, he created the non-profit Boston Foundation for Sight to provide these devices to those in need, regardless of their ability to pay. He remained president until 2012. In 2013, he founded the non-profit Boston EyePain Foundation, in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Honors and awards

His most cited publications are: