Min Yin,1– 3 Chenpei Zhao,1– 3 Jia You,4 Wenzhi Ding,1– 3 Dongdong Jiang,1– 3 Yuyin Tian,1– 3 Lin Shi,1– 3 Lin Leng1– 3 

1Qingdao Eye Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base, Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Eye Institute of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao Eye Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Ophthalmology, Shandong First Medical University, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China; 4Qingdao Central Hospital, University of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Qingdao, 266000, People’s Republic of China

Correspondence: Lin Leng, Email coollin.1987@163.com

Objective: To examine the current status of research, identify key areas of interest, and explore emerging frontiers in the field of scleral lenses (SL) with the goal of informing and advancing further research in this field.
Methods: Bibliometric methods were utilized to retrieve SL-related literature published in the Web of Science and Scopus database from 2014 to 2024. Elements such as authors, country/region, institution, journal, and keywords were analyzed using CiteSpace information visualization and analysis software and Bibliometrix R package.
Results: A total of 506 articles were included. Among 117 countries/regions, the United States ranked first in the number of publications, followed by Spain and Australia. The distribution of research institutions showed that the Queensland University of Technology had the largest number of publications. Prof. Schornack, MM from Mayo Clinic had the highest number of articles. The research literature on SLwas published in 184 journals, of which Contact Lens & Anterior Eye and Eye & Contact Lens: Science and Clinical Practice were the most influential. Keyword clustering mainly included corneal topography, dry eye, limbal stem cell deficiency, ocular surface disease.
Conclusion: SL has emerged as a prominent area of investigation in the field of ophthalmology. In this study, the research field of SL from 2014 to 2024 was visualized and analyzed, providing a visualization of the development status of SL and revealing the trends and cutting-edge hotspots of SL-related research. SL exhibits a broad spectrum of applications and demonstrates considerable potential for enhancing both visual acuity and overall quality of life in patients afflicted with diverse ocular conditions. This study offers a comprehensive overview of current state of knowledge and understanding on SL for researchers and clinicians.

Keywords: scleral lens, bibliometrics, literature visualization, research hotspots