Eyeworld

Clinical update on blue light filtering and aspheric technologies My surgical goal: improved functional vision Monofocal patients can be well served with the AcrySof IQ A ccording to the 2014 ASCRS Clinical Survey, while the av- erage ASCRS member per- forms 490 cataract surgeries per year, 414 of these are monofocal implants. We owe it to these patients to give them excellent functional vision with a monofocal lens. I believe the AcrySof IQ (Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas) pro- vides that. continued on page 6 by Lawrence Woodard, MD 5 For most patients, the amount of in- formation available about their options can be a bit overwhelming. Some feel the monofocal option is a "bargain basement quality lens." I dispel that myth as quickly as possible—one lens is not better than the other, it is just that these lenses do differ- ent things. So, for instance, if reading without glasses is not important to the pa- tient, then I tell them a monofocal lens is by far the best lens because it delivers the best possible distance quality vision. We discuss blue light filters and how that af- fects vision, how asphericity affects vision, and how these two concepts together can provide the high quality functional vision today's technology can deliver. Spherical aberrations can reduce the image quality of a lens, especially in low- contrast situations. Positive spherical aber- rations occur when light rays are over refracted at the periphery of a spherical IOL. An aspheric lens aligns the light rays to adjust for positive corneal spherical aberrations. The AcrySof IQ, however, fea- tures negative spherical aberration to com- pensate for the positive aberration of an average cornea. When I discuss this with patients, they immediately "get" how this type of technology improves contrast sensitivity and that the IOL has been designed to replicate the youthful human crystalline lens. Blue light filtering I only use the aspheric blue light filtering AcrySof IQ platform lenses. The biggest benefit I see for my patients with these lenses is how they per- form in low light conditions, as well as how improved the overall contrast sensitivity is. Once patients grasp the con- cept that the lens itself does not have a yellow tint but a chromophore that does not affect color perception, they "get it." At least half my cataract patients com- plain about glare and and inability to see in low light conditions. Cataract surgery has significantly changed. Today's patients are not waiting until their vision is ex- tremely poor to correct their cataracts. Today's cataract patients are coming in early for options to improve their func- tional vision. A persuasive study found the AcrySof IQ produced significantly greater reduc- tion in glare and increased the ability of AcrySof IQ IOLs can help reduce the impact of glare disability. Please refer to page 6 for important product information about the Alcon products described in this supplement.

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