Dual-optic accommodating IOL provides stable vision at all distances, researcher reports

Key Points

Dr. Alarcón, Department of Ophthalmology, ServiOftalmos, Bogotá, Colombia, presented the findings of a prospective, non-comparative case series evaluating the long-term (2-year) functional vision of patients in whom the dual-optic IOL was implanted binocularly after cataract surgery between 2004 and the present.

"The ideal IOL should provide a complete range of vision without compromising quality," he said. "Even more important, it needs to provide stable functionality over time."

Forty-two patients (84 eyes) were seen at 6 months, 39 (78 eyes) were seen at 1 year, and 21 (42 eyes) were seen at 2 years. Patients' mean age was 61 years (range, 40 to 73 years), all were Hispanic, and 64.3% were male and 35.7% were female.

At 1 year, mean UCVA for distance was 0.03 logMAR (20/22 Snellen), for intermediate was –0.10 logMAR (20/16), and for near was 0.12 logMAR (20/26).

Long-term results

After 2 years, mean UCVA remained stable, Dr. Alarcón reported, at 0.03 logMAR (20/22) for distance, –0.10 logMAR (20/16) for intermediate, and 0.06 logMAR (20/23) for near. Mean distance-corrected near and intermediate visual acuity remained stable over time, also, he said, at 20/15 for intermediate and 20/25 for near. Functionality of the lens did not change, Dr. Alarcón added.

After 2 years, 15 of 20 patients (74%) completing the patient satisfaction survey said they were completely spectacle independent, and four patients (20%) said they used glasses less than 2 hours per day, mainly for near activities. Also, more than 90% of patients reported that they can read at a 0.3 logMAR (20/40) level.

Regarding near-vision activities, 95% (19 of 20) of questionnaire respondents said that they can use a computer or read a newspaper without glasses, and about 74% said that they could read fine print such as medication-bottle labels, he added.

Investigators measured reading acuity using a standardized reading chart in Spanish based on the MNRead chart. At 0.4 logRAD (typical text found in a newspaper), the average distance-corrected, no-near-add reading speed was 182 words per minute; 95% of patients reached at least 80 words per minute, considered to be the lower limit for functional, recreational reading performance.

"This study demonstrates that [the IOL] can provide adequate and stable vision at all distances over a 2-year period," Dr. Alarcón concluded.