Comparison of the AcrySof IQ aspheric blue light filter and the AcrySof SA60AT intraocular lenses

PURPOSE: The development of aspheric intraocular lenses (IOL) designed to compensate for the positive spherical aberration of the cornea has been shown to improve the image quality of pseudophakic eyes. This prospective clinical study compared an aspheric IOL with a blue light filter (AcrySof IQ) with its spherical platform--the SA60AT IOL with conventional optic. METHODS: After uneventful phacoemulsification, 42 and 20 eyes were implanted with the AcrySof IQ aspheric lens and the SA60AT, respectively. Six weeks after surgery, higher order aberrations, visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, depth of focus, pupil size, and corneal asphericity were assessed. RESULTS: Visual acuity was good with both IOLs. A significant difference was found regarding spherical aberration. Mean values of spherical aberration, calculated for a 5-mm pupil were 0.20 +/- 0.06 microm with the SA60AT and 0.04 +/- 0.05 microm with the AcrySof IQ lens. Contrast sensitivity was significantly superior in the AcrySof IQ group in 7 of 15 measurement conditions. Asphericity of the cornea proved to be correlated with postoperative ocular spherical aberration. CONCLUSIONS: The aspheric optic design of the AcrySof IQ results in significant reduction of postoperative ocular spherical aberration and improved contrast vision. Measuring the corneal asphericity allows estimation of postoperative ocular spherical aberration.