Retinal image quality after microincision intraocular lens implantation

PURPOSE: To evaluate the modulation-transfer function (MTF) in eyes implanted with a conventional intraocular lens (IOL) and 2 IOLs designed for microincision cataract surgery (MICS). SETTING: Research, Development, and Innovation Department, Instituto Oftalmologico de Alicante, Alicante, Spain. METHODS: This prospective nonrandomized consecutive series comprised 30 eyes implanted with 1 of the following IOLs: conventional acrylic foldable (AcrySof MA60BM, Alcon Laboratories) or the UltraChoice 1.0 ThinOptX (ThinOptX Inc.) or the Acri.Smart 48S (Acri.Tech) MICS IOL. The 0.5 MTF and 0.1 MTF following MICS were calculated 3 months after implantation with the Optical Quality Analysis System (OQAS) for a 5 mm pupil. The differences were statistically analyzed with the Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: The values of 0.5 IVITF for AcrySof, UltraChoice, ThinOptX, and Acri.Smart IOLs were, respectively, 2.647 cycles per degree (cpd) +/- 0.833 (SD), 2.601 +/- 0.986 cpd, and 3.453 +/- 0.778 cpd. The mean 0.1 MTF values for the same IOLs were 8.720 +/- 3.074 cpd, 8.814 +/- 4.380 cpd, and 11.418 +/- 2.574 cpd, respectively. Statistical analysis did not show significant differences in 0.5 MTF and 0.1 MTF between the conventional IOL and MICS IOLs. CONCLUSIONS: Microincision cataract surgery IOLs showed excellent MTF performance when implanted after cataract surgery, equal to that of conventional IOLs. An in vivo MTF study may be an excellent option to evaluate IOL performance in the eye. (c) 2005 ASCRS and ESCRS.