Determining the imaging quality of intraocular lenses

To validate the proposed optical requirements of a draft international standard for intraocular lenses (IOLs).

Eight optical testing laboratories in the United States, Germany, Japan, and The Netherlands.

The testing laboratories performed modulation transfer function (MTF) tests on various IOLs using a model eye and visual resolution tests in air. Each laboratory performed duplicate measurements on a set of 43 lenses that was circulated among the testing laboratories.

The interlaboratory tests showed that the MTF measurements using a model eye had better repeatability and reproducibility than the more common industry practice of resolution testing in air with parallel light and the United States Air Force three-bar target. However, the two methods correlated well. The commonly applied criterion that an IOL resolve in air at least 60% of the Rayleigh cutoff spatial frequency corresponded to a minimum requirement of 0.43 MTF units at 100 mm-1 in a model eye.

Either criterion may be applied in accordance with a proposed international standard for IOLs. The model eye method can be applied over a broader range of dioptric powers and is relevant for materials that interact with aqueous. Both tests appear to have a greater ability to detect unwanted surface aberrations than resolution testing of IOLs in a water cell using parallel light, a method described in the current American National Standards Institute standard.