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Wavefront-corrected IOL improved night-driving vision in study
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Jonathan C. Javitt, MD, MPH, said wavefront corrected IOLs let patients achieve better night-driving vision. |
NUREMBERG, Germany – Wavefront-corrected IOLs allowed patients to achieve better reaction times in a night-driving simulator than standard biconvex IOLs, according to a speaker here.
Jonathan C. Javitt, MD, MPH, speaking at the German Ophthalmic Surgeons meeting, described a study in which 29 patients were randomly assigned to receive the Pfizer Tecnis Z9000 in one eye and a standard biconvex Alcon AcrySof SA60AT lens in the other.
Between 3 and 6 months after surgery, patients were tested for time from stimulus to reaction on a validated driving simulator. The simulator tested patients in both rural and urban night-driving situations.
Dr. Javitt reported that while there was a slight difference in visual acuity between the wavefront-corrected lenses and the standard lenses, there was a significant difference in the recognition of objects and reaction time on the driving simulator.
Dr. Javitt said the largest difference in recognition occurred with pedestrians in the picture. According to Dr. Javitt, night-driving testing is important because patients with only standard IOLs have been shown to be “on the edge of safety.”
He said that in the United States the third brake light on automobiles has been shown to improve braking time by 0.35 seconds, and now the Tecnis lens has been shown to improve braking time by at least that much.
“Wavefront-corrected IOLs show slightly better Snellen acuity, decreased postop spherical aberration, and therefore improved night-driving skills,” Dr. Javitt said.