Anterior segment OCT (AS-OCT) is an optical and noncontact imaging technology, which has numerous fields of application in the imaging of the cornea, anterior chamber, and the lens. In this chapter, we will present some of the application fields of AS-OCT in corneal, cataract, and refractive surgery. We will emphasize the potential of AS-OCT by several clinical examples including corneal imaging (keratoconus, keratoplasty, and refractive surgery) and intraocular lens imaging after refractive surgery. AS-OCT shows special potential for corneal imaging in case of corneal edema and for postoperative control after Descemet’s membrane endothelial keratoplasty (DMEK). The postoperative follow-up of a posterior chamber Collamer lens’ses vault and measuring the anterior chamber angle could be identified as another promising field of application for AS-OCT.
Part of the book: OCT
The shape of the normal human cornea induces positive spherical aberration (SA) which causes image blur. In the young phakic eye, the crystalline lens compensates for a certain amount of this corneal aberration. However, the compensation slowly decreases with the aging lens and is fully lost after cataract extraction and implantation of a standard intraocular lens (IOL). Conventional spherical IOLs add their intrinsic positive SA to the positive SA of the cornea increasing the image blur. As a useful side effect, this also increases the depth of focus—often referred to as pseudo-accommodation. Aspheric intraocular lenses have been introduced to be either neutral to SA or to compensate for a certain amount of corneal SA. A customized correction for the individual eye seems to be the most promising solution for tailored correction of SA. In this chapter we will provide detailed information on the various concepts of aspheric intraocular lenses to elucidate that the term “aspheric intraocular lens” is being used for a large amount of different lens designs.
Part of the book: Intraocular Lens