Lens thickness with age and accommodation by optical coherence tomography

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Biomedical Optics
• Gerontology

Background:

• Age-related changes in the crystalline lens affect vision.
• Accommodation, the eye's ability to focus, is influenced by lens properties.
• Quantifying lens changes is crucial for understanding visual function decline.

Purpose of the Study:

• To employ time-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) for measuring crystalline lens thickness variations.
• To assess the relationship between lens thickness, age, and accommodation.
• To validate OCT as a tool for quantifying age-related ocular changes.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving pre-presbyopic and presbyopic individuals.
• Measurement of subjective accommodation via push-up test.
• Objective accommodation assessed using a Grand Seiko auto-refractor and Badal lens system.
• Crystalline lens thickness measured with Zeiss Visante OCT and an internal optometer.

Main Results:

• Significant correlations found between age and both subjective (r=-0.74) and objective (r=-0.84) accommodation.
• Lens thickness showed robust correlations with age (r=-0.65), subjective accommodation (r=0.74), and objective accommodation (r=0.64).
• Linear regression indicated a 21-micrometer increase in lens thickness per year of age and a 51-micrometer increase per diopter of accommodation.

Conclusions:

• Time-domain OCT is a reliable, non-invasive method for quantifying crystalline lens thickness.
• Age and accommodation are significantly correlated with measured changes in lens thickness.
• OCT findings align with previous studies using Scheimpflug photography and ultrasound, confirming its utility.