Peripheral refractive errors in pseudophakic eyes: in vitro evaluation and optical simulation.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Optical Engineering
• Biomedical Optics

Background:

• Pseudophakic eyes, those with an implanted intraocular lens (IOL), can experience peripheral refractive errors.
• Understanding these errors is crucial for optimizing visual quality after cataract surgery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically assess peripheral refractive errors, specifically peripheral cylinder, in pseudophakic eyes.
• To compare the peripheral optical performance of various intraocular lens (IOL) types and technologies.

Main Methods:

• Optical bench measurements using a physical eye model with eight different IOL models (20 D approximate power).
• Inclusion of various IOL types (monofocal, EDOF, multifocal) and technologies (refractive, diffractive, wavefront-shaping).
• Optical simulations performed on average and personalized pseudophakic eye models.

Main Results:

• Peripheral cylinder at a 20° visual field was consistent across all tested IOLs, ranging from -2.24 to -2.87 D.
• Simulations indicated peripheral cylinder was largely independent of pupil size, retinal radius of curvature (ROC), and IOL technology in average eye models.
• Peripheral blur showed minor variations with IOL technology and ROC but was minimally affected by pupil size.

Conclusions:

• The peripheral optical performance, particularly peripheral cylinder, is comparable across a wide range of modern intraocular lens (IOL) technologies.
• IOL technology and eye-specific parameters have a limited impact on peripheral cylinder and blur in pseudophakic eyes.