Influence of pupillary dynamics on the defocus curve of eyes implanted with diffractive multifocal lenses: a...

To evaluate the influence of pupil dynamics on the defocus profile and area-of-focus of eyes implanted with a diffractive multifocal intraocular lens (IOL).

This prospective randomized trial was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil. Thirty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive the multifocal SN6AD1 (n=20) or the aspheric monofocal SN60WF (aIOL) (n=18) IOLs bilaterally. Dynamic pupillometry, visual acuity for distance and near, corrected and uncorrected, and a defocus profile were assessed postoperatively. The area-of-focus was calculated using an empirical polynomial model of the defocus profile.

Sixteen patients (32 eyes) in the multifocal SN6AD1 group and 17 patients (34 eyes) in the aspheric monofocal SN60WF group completed the 1-year follow-up. There were no significant between-group differences in monocular uncorrected distance or near visual acuity. The defocus profiles of the mfIOL group showed a double peak, whereas those of the aspheric monofocal SN60WF group showed only one peak, which is typical for a monofocal intraocular lens. The area-of-focus of the aIOL group (4.66 ± 1.51 logMARxD) was significantly different from that of the multifocal SN6AD1 (1.99 ± 1.31 logMARxD). Pupil size at maximum contraction after exposure to a flash of 30 cd/m2 for 1 second was significantly correlated with a better area-of-focus in the multifocal SN6AD1 group (r=0.54; p=0.0017), whereas this was not the case in the aspheric monofocal SN60WF group.

These findings indicate that in eyes implanted with an multifocal SN6AD1, the smaller the pupil size, the better is the area-of-focus and hence the better is the visual performance. This correlation was not found for the aspheric monofocal SN60WF.