Small-pupil versus multifocal strategies for expanding depth of focus of presbyopic eyes

Non-Miotic Improvement in Binocular Near Vision with a Topical Compound Formula for Presbyopia Correction

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this case series was to examine the association between unaided binocular visual acuity for near vision and pupil change after the instillation of a special topical formulation for presbyopia treatment.

METHODS

This was a case series consisting of consecutive participants with presbyopia aged 40-70 years who were tested for visual acuity and pupil diameter before and 2 h after instillation of a formulation of pilocarpine and phenylephrine drops (FOV Tears) for presbyopia. Participants underwent subjective refraction, photopic and scotopic pupil diameter measurement and unaided monocular and binocular visual acuity testing by logMAR for distance and near vision both pre- and post-instillation of eye drops.

RESULTS

The study enrolled 363 subjects (n = 176 women, 48%) with a mean (± standard deviation) age of 50.4 ± 5.8 years. Mean spherical equivalent (SE) changed significantly (- 0.17 Diopters) after instillation of the FOV Tears formulation (p < 0.001). Post-instillation of eye drops, the scotopic pupil diameter decreased by 0.97 ± 0.98 mm, and the near visual acuity by logMAR improved significantly by nearly two lines (p < 0.01). In the linear regression analyses, age (p < 0.001) and SE pre-drop instillation (p < 0.001) were associated with unaided binocular visual acuity. The changes in photopic pupil diameter and the scotopic pupil diameter were not associated with unaided binocular visual acuity.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of the pilocarpine and phenylephrine formulation (FOV Tears) improved binocular visual acuity for near vision in presbyopic patients, and the effect was independent of pupil change.

Spherical aberration for expanding depth of focus

The increase in the depth of focus (DoF) for the treatment of presbyopia or cataracts is a topic of great interest for anterior segment surgeons who have seen how new surgical possibilities to achieve DoF enlargement have emerged. Nowadays, several technologies to extend the DoF are available, from corneal laser refractive surgery procedures in presbyopia to intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in cataract or refractive lens exchange. Some of these procedures are based on aspheric profiles, either in the cornea or in the IOL, which modulate the spherical aberration (SA) and, therefore, extend the light energy on different focal planes. The aim of this narrative review was to give an overall picture about the reasons why there is not a general solution persistent along time of SA induction to extend DoF, especially considering that SA depends on pupil diameter and this decreases with age.

Optical Performance of a Monofocal Intraocular Lens Designed to Extend Depth of Focus

PURPOSE

To test the performance of a new monofocal intraocular lens, intended to extend depth of focus (Tecnis Eyhance, ICB00; Johnson & Johnson Vision, Inc) (ICB-IOL), in comparison to a standard monofocal IOL (Tecnis 1-piece, ZCB00; Johnson & Johnson Vision, Inc) (ZCB-IOL) of the same platform and material.

METHODS

Assessment of the optical performance of the two IOLs was made in vitro using an optical test bench with a model eye. The spherical aberration, modulation transfer function (MTF), and area under the MTF (MTFa) were obtained for pupil sizes ranging from 2 to 5 mm. Through-focus MTFa curves between -3.00 and +1.00 diopters (D) were obtained with three pupil sizes (2, 3, and 4.5 mm). Halo formation was also assessed for both lenses.

RESULTS

The ICB-IOL had slightly worse optical quality at its best focus (ie, lower MTF scores at distance vision) and more negative spherical aberration than the ZCB-IOL for pupils ranging from 2 to 3 mm. The maximum of the through-focus MTFa curve of the ICB-IOL with a 2-mm pupil shifted to a myopic defocus of -0.50 D. For larger pupils (≥ 3.5 mm), there were no differences in spherical aberration, MTF scores, and halo energy between the two lenses.

CONCLUSIONS

The new ICB-IOL is a modified monofocal lens with 0.50 D of additional power in its central 2-mm zone and more negative spherical aberration values, which induce a myopic shift of the maximum of optical quality and could improve intermediate vision. For pupils larger than 3.5 mm, there were no differences between IOLs. The new ICB-IOL design would produce photic phenomena comparable to a standard IOL. [J Refract Surg. 2020;36(9):625-632.].

Pharmacological Therapy for Presbyopia in Patients with Previous Corneal Refractive Surgery: A Pilot Study

Purpose

To perform a pilot evaluation of a novel pharmacological therapy for presbyopia in patients with previous corneal refractive surgery.

Methods

This interventional study included 130 presbyopic patients. The patients were divided into three groups: (1) LASIK group, which included patients with previous LASIK for myopia or hyperopia; (2) previous presbyopia surgery group, including patients with previous monovision or PresbyLASIK (PresbyMAX, SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions GmbH, Kleinostheim, Germany); and (3) control group, which included presbyopes without any corneal refractive procedure. The main reason for dividing them into groups is that we hypothesized that the previous presbyopia surgery group may have better outcomes as the patients already have an increased depth of field. The uncorrected near and distance visual acuity was measured before and 2 hours after the binocular instillation of the eye drop (FOV tears), as well as the objective scatter index (OSI), and pupil diameter in photopic and scotopic conditions. Side effects were reported as well.

Results

There was a statistically significant improvement in the uncorrected near vision in all groups (p = 0.001). Ninety-one percent of the patients included in this study gained at least one line in near vision. All patients in the previous presbyopia surgery group gained at least one line in near vision. Six patients (13.9%) in the LASIK group and five (7.6%) in the control group did not gain any lines of near vision. There was no significant difference in the OSI, there was a significant change in pupil size in scotopic conditions in all groups (p = 0.001), and 5.3% of the patients reported having a headache as a side effect of the therapy.

Conclusions

Topical treatment with this pharmacological therapy offers a potential for near vision improvement in patients with previous corneal refractive surgery, especially in those with previous presbyopia surgery.

The Effect of Retinal Illuminance on the Subjective Amplitude of Accommodation

SIGNIFICANCE

We show that the amplitude of accommodation decreases with retinal illumination even under photopic reading conditions and a constant pupil size. This result provides a basis for clinical approaches that are not based on an optical explanation.

PURPOSE

We investigated the effect of retinal illuminance on the amplitude of accommodation while the pupil of the eye remained constant.

METHODS

The amplitudes of accommodation of 10 young subjects (from 20 to 38 years of age) and that of 10 presbyopic subjects (from 45 to 54 years of age) were measured subjectively through an artificial pupil of 5 mm using a Badal optometer and for four values of retinal illuminance: 222, 821, 2138, and 5074 trolands. Phenylephrine was instilled to all the subjects to ensure that their natural pupil was greater than the artificial one in all experimental runs. Linear mixed-effects model for repeated measures with age and log luminance as covariates were used to check whether changes in amplitude of accommodation with retinal illumination were statistically significant.

RESULTS

In the range of illuminances tested, the amplitude of accommodation decreased on average from 6.34 to 4.35 D in the young subjects and from 1.69 to 1.04 D in the presbyopic subjects. Illuminance was associated with the amplitude of accommodation in both young and presbyopic groups, with P < .01.

CONCLUSIONS

The reduction in the amplitude of accommodation with target illumination (a phenomenon named night presbyopia) under photopic light conditions is not only due to a reduction in the depth of focus as a consequence of pupil dilation; it is strongly affected by the decrease of retinal illumination.

Static and Dynamic Factors Associated With Extended Depth of Focus in Monofocal Intraocular Lenses

PURPOSE

To analyze factors affecting depth of focus (DOF) and near vision functionality in eyes implanted with aspheric monofocal intraocular lenses (IOLs).

METHODS

This prospective study included 111 eyes of 74 patients that underwent phacoemulsification with monofocal IOL implantation. Ninety-one normal eyes were randomized to receive aberration-free (n = 30) or negative-spherical aberration (SA) IOLs (n = 61). Twenty post-hyperopic femto-LASIK eyes received aberration-free IOLs. Corneal higher-order aberrations (SA, coma, trefoil, and corneal asphericity) for a 6 mm pupil were measured by Scheimpflug tomography. Ray-tracing metrics (visual Strehl optical transfer function [VSOTF], effective range of focus [EROF], sphere shift [SS], EROF-SS), pupil size measurements at far and near, and ocular and corneal SA were obtained using ray-tracing aberrometry. Distance-corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA) and subjective defocus curves up to ±4.0 diopters were evaluated.

RESULTS

Multivariable logistic regression found corneal profile and IOL type to be determinants of extended DOF with monofocal IOLs. The aberration-free IOL group showed significantly better DCNVA and higher total SA than the negative-SA group. Post-hyperopic LASIK eyes showed significantly better DCNVA; higher negative SA, coma, and Q value (P < .05), and smaller pupil size (P = .05) than normal eyes implanted with aberration-free IOLs.

CONCLUSION

Corneal profile and type of IOL implanted were the most important factors influencing near vision functionality with aspheric monofocal IOLs. Higher positive SA in the aberration-free group potentially led to better DCNVA than the negative-SA group in normal eyes. Hyperprolate corneas had better DOF curves and DCNVA than normal corneas. NOTE: Publication of this article is sponsored by the American Ophthalmological Society.

Correction of presbyopia: old problems with old (and new) solutions

We live in a three-dimensional world and the human eye can focus images from a wide range of distances by adjusting the power of the eye's lens (accommodation). Progressive senescent changes in the lens ultimately lead to a complete loss of this ability by about age 50, which then requires alternative strategies to generate high-quality retinal images for far and close viewing distances. This review paper highlights the biomimetic properties and underlying optical mechanisms of induced anisometropia, small apertures, dynamic lenses, and multi-optic lenses in ameliorating the visual consequences of presbyopia. Specifically, the advantages and consequences of non-liner neural summation leveraged in monovision treatments are reviewed. Additionally, the value of a small pupil is quantified, and the impact of pinhole pupil location and their effects on neural sensitivity are examined. Different strategies of generating multifocal optics are also examined, and specifically the interaction between ocular and contact or intraocular lens aberrations and their effect on resulting image quality are simulated. Interestingly, most of the novel strategies for aiding presbyopic and pseudophakic eyes (for example, monovision, multifocality, pinhole pupils) have emerged naturally via evolution in a range of species.

Pupil Function in Pseudophakia: Proximal Miosis Behavior and Optical Influence

The pseudophakic eye lacks the ability to produce a refractive change in response to object proximity. Thus, individual anatomical features such as the pupil size play an important role in achieving functional vision levels. In this work, the range of pupil sizes at varying object distance was measured in pseudophakic participants. Furthermore, the impact of the measured values on eye optical quality was investigated using a computer simulation model. A binocular eye-tracker was used to measure the participants’ pupil sizes at six object distances, ranging from 0.33 m (i.e., vergence of 3.00 D) to 3.00 m (i.e., vergence of 0.33 D), while observing a Maltese cross with a constant angular size of 1 ∘ . In total, 58 pseudophakic participants were enrolled in this study (age mean ± standard deviation: 70.5 ± 11.3 years). The effects of object distance and age on pupil size variation were investigated using linear mixed effects regression models. Age was found to have a small contribution to individual variability. The mean infinite distance pupil size (intercept) was 4.45 ( 95 % CI: 2.74, 6.17) mm and the mean proximal miosis (slope) was − 0.23 ( 95 % CI: −0.53, 0.08) mm/D. The visual acuity (VA) estimation for a distant object ranged from − 0.1 logMAR (smallest pupil) to 0.04 logMAR (largest pupil) and the near VA ( 0.33 m) when mean proximal miosis was considered ranged from 0.28 logMAR (smallest pupil) to 0.42 logMAR (largest pupil). When mean distance pupil was considered, proximal miosis individual variability produced a variation of 0.04 logMAR for the near object and negligible variation for the distant object. These results support the importance of distance pupil size measurement for the prediction of visual performance in pseudophakia, while suggesting that proximal miosis has a negligible impact in VA variability.