title: Assessment of potential contrast sensitivity. Part I: Preoperative prediction of contrast sensitivity following intraocular lens implantation.
abstract: Preoperative contrast sensitivity functions (CSFs) were determined for 15 cataract patients using laser-generated patterns that effectively bypassed the optical components of the eye. These functions were compared with postoperative CSFs determined using traditional methods by transmission through the optics of the eye. Accurate prediction of postoperative contrast sensitivity occurred in 91% of the cases (ten of 11) for patients with preoperative visual acuity of 20/200 or better and in 67% of all the cases (ten of 15). Prediction failures occurred when the laser interferometer was not able to penetrate the cataract or when postoperative complications occurred. These results suggest that preoperative measurement of laser interferometric CSF is a useful predictor of postoperative CSF for patients with mild to moderate cataracts that can be bypassed by the laser and with better than 20/200 preoperative visual acuity. The problem of assessment when lens opacity is advanced is addressed in Part II.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Klett
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Gieser
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Couch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hirsch
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002387:Cataract Extraction; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007368:Interferometry; D007910:Lenses, Intraocular; D008027:Light; D008875:Middle Aged; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D014792:Visual Acuity