Testing important to show wavefront results

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A variety of tests, including those that measure vision, sensory information, refraction, contrast sensitivity and ocular comfort, are all important in identifying the results of wavefront-guided refractive surgery, according to a study.

Nancy Keir and colleagues set out to determine “whether fundamental factors exist to account for the relationships between the variables for a CustomCornea clinical trial.” CustomCornea is the wavefront-guided ablation system used on the Alcon LADARVision laser. The study results were presented in a poster here at the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting.

In the study, LASIK was performed in 163 myopic eyes with or without astigmatism with Alcon’s LADARVision laser with the LADARWave device. A number of factors were measured. Factor 1 included high-luminance vision (visual acuity measured under dim lighting conditions). Factor 2 included sensory ratings, such as light sensitivity, glare and haloes. Other factors measured included spherical ametropia (factor 3); contrast sensitivity (factor 4); and ocular discomfort (factor 5).

The researchers found that high-luminance vision showed the most variability (25%). Sensory ratings showed the second-most variability (17%), “with questions regarding glare and haloes providing the most information on this factor,” according to the poster. Sphere and spherical equivalent refraction were the most significant variables describing factor 3, and low spatial frequency photopic contributed the most to factor 4. Burning, tearing and dryness were the key variables regarding ocular comfort for factor 5, the researchers said.