Hydrogel Corneal Inlay to Treat Pseudophakic Presbyopia
Narrative Responses:
Purpose
To assess visual function in pseudophakic patients treated with a shape-changing hydrogel corneal inlay (Raindrop) to improve near and intermediate vision.
Methods
Patients previously implanted with standard monofocal IOLs for cataract were identified and treated in the non-dominant eye with Raindrop, a transparent corneal inlay that creates a central corneal steepening (Profocal cornea) to increase the range of vision. 13 subjects were also treated with LASIK concurrently and 11 subjects in the fellow eye that was not implanted with a Raindrop. Changes in near, intermediate and distance acuity at 3 months post inlay implant, uncorrected and best distance-corrected, will be reported based on standard measurement methods while patient satisfaction, visual function and any visual symptoms will be assessed using a questionnaire.
Results
Thirty-three patients were examined at 3 months at which point, on average, subjects achieved binocularly 0.1 UNVA, 0.1 UIVA and 0.0 UDVA logMAR. When tested monocularly, average UNVA remains 0.1 logMAR. Near, intermediate and distance task performance improved under good light and dim light conditions. Patient satisfaction was 85% ‘Satisfied’ or ‘Very Satisfied,’ 12% ‘Neutral’ and 3% ‘Dissatisfied.’ Best corrected near and distance vision in the inlay eye were, on average, within 0.02 logMAR of pre-op and no patients lost two or more lines.
Conclusion
Raindrop changes the shape of the cornea to improve near, intermediate and distance (when combined with LASIK) functionality. In this cohort of pseudophakic patients implanted with standard monofocal IOLs, the transparent inlay improved visual acuities and task performance significantly.