Platform offers more efficient cataract surgical experience

Reviewed by Zachary J. Zavodni, MD

The times required to perform various aspects of the preoperative and intraoperative cataract surgery processes decreased substantially when a cloud-based digital health platform was used to determine its impact on improving efficiency leading up to surgery and during the procedure

, according to Zachary J. Zavodni, MD, medical director of The Eye Institute of Utah in Salt Lake City. Zavodni presented his data at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery’s 2022 annual meeting in Washington, DC.

The platform, SMARTCataract (Alcon), effectively streamlines data entry throughout the process by eliminating manual entry. Zavodni and colleagues conducted a real-world, prospective study at The Eye Institute that included patients undergoing cataract evaluation and surgery. The variables considered included the time required and the number of manual data entry transcription points for the biometers, tomographer, topographer, and optical coherence tomographer; the operating room calculations using the LenSx Laser and ORA System (Alcon); and the online IOLpower calculations using the Barrett True-K and Toric formulas.

The investigators determined the amount of time required for the diagnostic workup, preoperative planning for patients without astigmatism who had not undergone a refractive procedure and for those with astigmatism who had undergone a refractive procedure, and the intraoperative preparation. They then compared the findings between the traditional manual workflow and the SMARTCataract Planner.

Differences in calculations

Zavodni reported that for patients without astigmatism who had not undergone a refractive procedure, the SMARTCataract Planner saved 58 seconds in the clinic compared with traditional methods and avoided manual data entry of 18 transcription points.

For postrefractive patients, the SMARTCataract Planner can save 8 minutes, 18 seconds without need for manual data entry; this included additional tests received (tomographer and confirmatory biometer) in the clinic requiring 1 minute, 33 seconds for 30 transcription points; reduced surgical planning with the True-K formula amounted to 4 minutes, 16 seconds for 19 transcription points; and in the operating room using the ORA system amounted to 2 minutes, 29 seconds for 29 transcription points.

For the astigmatic patients, 6 minutes, 36 seconds were saved (ie, in the clinic 58 seconds for 18 transcription points; in surgical planning using the Toric formula 2 minutes, 32 seconds for 18 transcription points; and in the operating room in data transfer to the LenSx and the Ora System 3 minutes, 7 seconds for 33 transcription points).

Zavodni commented on the significant time savings facilitated by use of the platform. Inefficiencies from manual data entry and nonintegration exist throughout the cataract surgery workflow, he pointed out, from evaluation of the patient to the time of surgery. Use of the SMARTCataract platform had a substantial impact on the cataract evaluation and efficiency in the operating room realized by the surgeons and technicians due to its ability to seamlessly integrate data points needed for cataract procedures by eliminating manual data entry.

Zachary J. Zavodni, MD

E: zacharyzavodni@gmail.com

This article was adapted from Zavodni’s presentation at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery’s 2022 annual meeting in Washington, DC. Zavodni is a consultant to Alcon.