Prediction of Visual Acuity and Contrast Sensitivity From Optical Simulations With Multifocal Intraocular Lenses.

Abstract

To evaluate whether the prediction of visual performance based on the modulation transfer function area (MTFa) calculated with optical simulations is better correlated with visual acuity or contrast sensitivity obtained from defocus curves in patients implanted with a trifocal intraocular lens. Biometric eye data from 43 patients were used to create a mean eye model. A trifocal intraocular lens with a power obtained from the mean of the eyes implanted was incorporated into the model and the MTFa was calculated at the 11 defocus planes corresponding the 11 defocus locations measured in clinical practice. Simulations were conducted for pupil diameters of 2.5, 3, 3.5, and 4 mm. The MTFa correlation with visual acuity and contrast sensitivity was evaluated with the mean obtained after stratification of the clinical sample in four groups according to the previous pupil diameters. A linear model predicted the visual acuity and contrast sensitivity from MTFa with similar accuracy to nonlinear models, with R2 approximately 0.50 for visual acuity and approximately 0.42 for contrast sensitivity. A change of -0.01 logMAR and -0.02 logC was produced per unit of MTFa for visual acuity and contrast sensitivity, respectively. The mean difference between the visual acuity and contrast sensitivity obtained from the model and that measured in clinical practice was close to zero, but the bias varied depending on the defocus lens used, with higher deviation at -0.50 and -3.00 diopters of defocus. The MTFa obtained from optical simulations can be used to predict the mean visual acuity and contrast sensitivity consistently, with contrast sensitivity being more sensitive but with higher bias. [J Refract Surg. 2019;35(12):789-795.].