Contact lens visionary Robert A. Koetting, O.D., 85, died August 7 in Bedford, Texas.

Dr. Koetting was an inventor, prolific writer and advocate of contact lenses. He focused his practice almost exclusively on contacts in the early 1960s, when lenses were new to the market. He also co-founded the International Society for Contact Lens Research. His practice specialized in hard-to-fit lenses and carried an exceptionally large inventory. His reputation as a business-savvy professional made him a popular speaker and his cutting-edge methods attracted an estimated 30,000 patients to his practice.

Dr. Koetting wore contacts and required everyone on his staff to wear them instead of glasses. In 1960, Dr. Koetting invented and manufactured a slit lamp for prescribing contact lenses. Six years later, he wrote what was described as the first paper on the effects of oral contraceptives on contact lens wear. During his career, he wrote five books and more than 350 articles and scientific papers.