Retinal image quality through an operating microscope with wavefront shaping extended depth of focus intraocular lens in model eye.

PURPOSE: To compare the quality of images of gratings placed in a model eye viewed through an extended depth of focus (EDoF) intraocular lens (IOL) to that of diffractive bifocal IOL or monofocal IOL.

DESIGN: Experimental laboratory investigation.

METHODS: Non-diffractive wavefront shaping EDoF (CNAET0, Alcon laboratories), echelette-designed EDoF (ZXR00V, Johnson & Johnson Vision), diffractive bifocal IOL with low power addition (SV25T, Alcon Laboratories), or monofocal IOL (CNA0T0, Alcon laboratories) was placed in a fluid-filled model eye. A USAF Resolution Grating Target was glued to the posterior surface of the model eye and viewed through a flat or a wide-angle contact lens. The contrast of the gratings viewed through the EDoF or multifocal IOLs was compared to that through the monofocal IOL. A wavefront analyzer was used to measure the spherical power of the central 4.5 mm optics of the EDoF, multifocal, and monofocal IOLs. The distribution of the dioptric power and the dioptric power map were compared.

RESULTS: The gratings observed through the flat contact lens with the CNAET0, ZXR00V, or SV25T were slightly blurred when viewed through the multifocal optics. The blurred area was in the circumferential area of the CNAET0, the central area of SV25T, and the peripheral area of ZXR00V. The mean contrast was 0.258±0.020 for CNAET0, 0.227±0.025 for ZXR00V, and 0.221±0.020 for SV25T for the 16.0 cyc/mm grating. The contrast was significantly lower for ZXR00V (P=0.004) and SV25T (P=0.004) than the 0.303±0.015 for CNA0T0 but the differences were not significant. For the wide-angle contact lens, the contrast for CNAET0 was 0.182±0.009, for ZXR00V was 0.162±0.011, and for SV25T was 0.163±0.007 for the 16.0 cyc/mm grating, and none was significantly different from the 0.188±0.012 for CNA0T0. The dioptric variations of the CNAET0 indicated a ring-shaped area of higher power corresponding to the circumferential blurred zone observed through the flat contact lens.

CONCLUSION: The wavefront shaping and echelette-designed EDoF-IOLs reduce the contrast of the grating more than the monofocal IOL when viewed through the flat contact lens. The degree of reduction depended on the design of the extended-focus optics. The difference was less through the wide-angle contact lens.