Determination of Correlated Color Temperature in Ex Vivo Porcine Eyes during Intraocular Illumination

(1) Background: In ophthalmic surgery, white light is mostly applied to illuminate the intraocular space, and ophthalmologists are comfortable working with it. Diaphanoscopic illumination changes the spectral composition of light, resulting in a change in the correlated color temperature (CCT) of the intraocular illumination. This color change makes it difficult for surgeons to recognize the structures in the eye. CCT during intraocular illumination has not yet been measured before, and it is the aim of this study to perform such measurement. (2) Methods: CCT was measured inside ex vivo porcine eyes during diaphanoscopic illumination and endoillumination using a current ophthalmic illumination system with a detection fiber inside the eye. By applying pressure on the eye with a diaphanoscopic fiber, the dependency of CCT on pressure was examined. (3) Results: The intraocular CCT values during endoillumination were 3923 K and 5407 K for the halogen and xenon lamps, respectively. During diaphanoscopic illumination, a strong unwanted red shift was observed, resulting in 2199 K and 2675 K for the xenon and the halogen lamps, respectively. Regarding different applied pressures, the CCT did not differ considerably. (4) Conclusions: This red shift should be compensated for in the development of new illumination systems since surgeons are used to white light illumination, which also simplifies the identification of retinal structures.