Wavefront technology shows eye's changes with age

BOSTON — Wavefront technology can assist in charting the aging process in a patient's eye, according to a surgeon speaking here.

Kevin L. Waltz, OD, MD, discussed the use of wavefront technology in measuring aberrations in the aging eye at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Summer Refractive Congress.

"We're just beginning to understand how the eye ages with wavefront technology. It ages very differently from what you and I would expect," he said.

As an example, Dr. Waltz described wavefront measurement changes in his son at different time points. At 13 years of age, the eyes show little to no change in aberrations during accommodation. Measurements at ages 19 and 23 years showed similar results - little change in aberrations with accommodation - but changes began to increase.

By a person's late 20s and early 30s, alterations in accommodation are beginning "very gradually, very steadily," Dr. Waltz said.

In wavefront maps of patients in their 40s, the wavefront summary displays showed that mild cataracts are forming, Dr. Waltz said. Cataracts cause opacity that attenuates the light entering the eye, and they also cause higher-order aberrations, scattering photons as they pass through the lens, he said.