In vitro optical quality assessment of a monofocal IOL sutured to an artificial iris

Purpose To assess whether the combined implantation of a monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) and an artificial iris has an effect on the IOL's optical performance. Setting David J. Apple International Laboratory for Ocular Pathology, Heidelberg, Germany. Design In vitro laboratory study. Methods IOL optical quality was assessed using an OptiSpheric IOL Pro II to measure the IOL's modulation transfer function (MTF) at 3.0 mm pupil size and spatial frequency of 100 lp/mm. Three ASPIRA-aAY IOLs with different base powers, 10.0 diopter (D) (IOL A), 20.0 D (IOL B), and 30.0 D (IOL C) were measured before and after suturing the IOL to an ArtificialIris (AI). The degree of lens decentration in respect to the center of the AI was also evaluated. Results The mean MTF values prior to suturing were 0.57, 0.65, and 0.63 for IOLs A, B, and C, respectively. After suturing to the AI, the mean MTF values were 0.52, 0.54, and 0.55 for IOLs A, B, and C, respectively. The decentration values in vertical direction were 0.20 mm, 0.00 mm, and 0.02 mm for IOLs A, B, and C. In horizontal direction, the decentration values were 0.42 mm, 0.10 mm, and 0.03 mm for IOLs A, B, and C. Conclusions The MTF decreased slightly in all 3 IOLs after they were sutured to the AI. The small differences, however, should be clinically irrelevant. This laboratory assessment showed that suturing of the IOL to the AI can be done in a reliable and reproducible manner without deteriorating optical quality.