A Novel Intraocular Lens Simulator that Allows Patients to Experience the World Through Multifocal Intraocular Lenses Before Surgeries

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the intraocular lens (IOL) simulator can simulate how the world appears to patients with multifocal IOLs by allowing the patients to see far and near objects through the IOL simulator. METHODS: Twenty eyes from 20 patients (age = 50–70 years old) were included in the study. The IOL simulator we developed consists of a trial lens frame adapter, a lens tube, a concave lens, a spacer, a wet cell, and an IOL. We used two IOLs: Tecnis monofocal and Tecnis bifocal IOL (add +3.25 diopter [D]). Patients wore a trial lens frame with an IOL simulator on distant corrected trial lenses and underwent the following tests: defocus curve, satisfaction with distance and near vision, halo around the light, and near point accommodation (NPA). To check how the world appears to the patients through this simulator, a machine vision lens and a scientific camera were attached to the simulator, and far and near objects were photographed. RESULTS: In the defocus curve of multifocal IOL, the visual acuity showed the second peak at –4 D. Compared to monofocal IOL, satisfaction with distant vision was slightly worse, more halos were felt, satisfaction with near vision was higher, and the NPA was shorter in multifocal IOL. In the scientific camera test, through the multifocal IOL, the waiting room was blurry, the halo around the ceiling light was prominent, and the characteristics on the near visual acuity chart were clear. CONCLUSION: Subjects could experience the functions of multifocal IOLs with our newly developed IOL simulator. TRANSLATIONAL RELEVANCE: This IOL simulator using geometric optics allows patients to experience the function of multifocal IOLs before cataract surgery.