With an increasingly ageing population and with the need for cataract surgery rising it has never been more important that both ophthalmologists and patients keep up to date with the latest medical advances in the field of cataracts and eye surgery in general, to ensure they receive the best and most suitable treatment for their own eyes.
Most people are aware that cataracts occur when the crystalline lens in the eye becomes opaque. There are many different reasons and conditions that can cause cataracts, but the most prevalent is undoubtedly the natural ageing process.
That means that unsurprisingly, as the demographics of the population begin to shift toward an older, more long-lived populace, there is a corresponding increase in cases of cataracts.
Strangely, however, the most recent data from a study published by the US Department of Health and Human Services states there has been no corresponding increase in people becoming qualified ophthalmologists.
Indeed the study goes on to say that by 2025 there will be a deficit of ophthalmologists within the US, with demand for cataract surgery far outstripping the ability to supply the much needed medical intervention.
That being the case, it is more important than ever that ophthalmologists keep up to date with the latest medical advancements to ensure that they can increase their ability to perform cataracts surgery.
Procedure innovation
Recent studies suggest that the accuracy of toric lens alignment has been significantly improved with the introduction of the new alignment systems, which allow for toric intraocular lens (IOL) alignment and dispense with the need for either manually marking the eye on a slit lamp or freehand on the conjunctiva.
Further studies looking into the new alignment systems have found significant evidence that markerless alignment systems can reduce the number of post-operative astigmatisms common in some patients.
Additionally, Intraoperative Aberrometry (IA) can now assist with intraocular lens calculation so that ophthalmologists can now obtain exact axial length measurements which allows for more accurate lens planning.
Another recent advancement comes with the improved monofocal and multifocal IOL’s.
Monofocal lenses allow for the correction of patients suffering from a single focus impairment and are most often used to correct distance vision.
Multifocal IOL’s, on the other hand, have been specifically created to give patients near and intermediate vision but can additionally minimise problems with distance vision.
Multifocal IOL’s come in two different types; refractive multifocal lenses which have multiple refraction zones and rely heavily on pupil size to visualise both image and distance, and diffractive multifocal lenses which are designed to refract light entering at different points and allow for multifocality.
Patients have also been treated to another recent discovery in the form of a more blended option that allows ophthalmologists to provide a mild version of monovision to patients by implanting a different reading addition to non-dominant and dominant eyes.
This treatment has shown significant success in several studies done with small control groups and represents an exciting set of findings for ophthalmologists to study.
Advancements in IOL’s continue at pace as seen with the 2019 release of a new advanced monofocal lens that boasts a continuous change in power from the periphery to the centre of the anterior surface, that helps improve intermediate vision without detrimentally affecting distance vision.
Another new innovation with regards to IOL’s is the invention of the accommodating IOL that allows for improved near vision after implementation.
Lenses in development
Hopefully, in the near future, there will be even more improvements and advances in IOL’s as there are several exciting lenses currently in development.
Several of those IOL’s in development are being designed to be able to change shape via a complex system of pumps and shunts that move fluid around when it is implanted in the capsular bag.
Another eagerly awaited IOL is a lens that uses electrical impulses to control the refractive index via a liquid crystal. The lens is built with a monofocal IOL, that uses an aspheric central optic that helps improve both distance and intermediate vision.
Incredibly smart, the lens is touted to use microsensors to detect light changes that then cause the liquid crystal to change its focusing power.
Not only do recent advancements in cataracts lenses mean that the outcome for patients has drastically improved, but innovations and new surgical tools have also meant that the surgery itself has become safer, faster and has dramatically decreased complications.
Innovative approaches to anterior capsulotomy, for example, have included the nanoengineered Zepto device that uses precision pulses to create a perfectly round capsulotomy.
Similarly, the CAPSULaser uses a non-contact laser that delivers a continuous burst of energy that amazingly can create a circular capsulotomy in one second.
These recent developments and surgical advancements mean that patients can be assured that the treatment they receive is more accurate, more beneficial and crucially safer than ever before.
This is an important and crucial set of improvements for the future of cataracts surgery, because if the US Department of Health and Human Services are correct and within the next five years prospective patients end up outstripping ophthalmologists, then improvements in technology and surgical treatments are essential to ensure that demand can continue to be met.
If you suspect that you may be suffering from an eye disorder or worsening eye disease, it’s imperative that you get your eyes checked immediately. You can book an eye examination at your local optometrist or check out the highly skilled team over at London Cataract Centre – londoncataractcentre.co.uk
