title: Serial measurements of higher-order aberrations after blinking in patients with dry eye.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the sequential postblink changes in ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in patients with dry eye.
  
  
  METHODS
  A wavefront sensor was used to measure HOAs sequentially for 30 seconds in 20 eyes of 20 patients with dry eye. The 20 eyes were classified into two groups, with or without superficial punctate keratopathy (SPK) in the central cornea. During the measurement, subjects were required to blink every 10 seconds. The aberration data were analyzed in the central 4-mm diameter for coma-like, spherical-like, and total HOAs up to sixth-order Zernike polynomials. Total HOAs, as well as fluctuation index (FI) and stability index (SI) of the total HOAs over time were compared between the two groups. The sequential changes in coma-like aberration, spherical-like aberration, and total HOAs were also investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The total ocular HOAs were significantly (P = 0.001) greater in dry eyes with central SPK than in dry eyes without central SPK. The sequential pattern of the total ocular HOAs had higher initial and consistently higher values in dry eyes with central SPK, whereas that of dry eyes without central SPK showed consistently lower total HOAs that were similar to the pattern of normal eyes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased HOAs in dry eye at least partially result from SPK above the optical zone. The low tear volume in dry eye may not cause sequential increases in HOAs after blinking. Sequential measurement of HOAs may be useful for evaluating the sequential changes in optical quality in patients with dry eye.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, Osaka University Medical School, Suita, Japan.
authors.forename: Shizuka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: Naoyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirohara
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mihashi
authors.forename: Kenichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bessho
authors.forename: Yuichi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Watanabe
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujikado
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tano
mesh_terms: D001767:Blinking; D003316:Corneal Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D019781:Corneal Topography; D015352:Dry Eye Syndromes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000378:metabolism*; D013666:Tears / Q000502:physiology