Posters

In vivo and in vitro study of the total pulse energy needed for Nd:YAG laser capsulotomy

Poster Details

First Author: G. Hawlina SLOVENIA

Co Author(s):    P. Gregorcic   B. Drnovsek Olup                 

Abstract Details

Purpose:

A posterior capsule opacification (PCO) is the most-common post-operative complication of cataract surgery. Here, the opacification occurs due to lens epithelial cells remaining in the capsular bag after surgery. Their migration, proliferation and transformation are responsible for clinically distinguishable PCO types. To distinguish PCO types according to the distance between the intraocular lens and the posterior capsule (IOL/PC distance) we designed an in vivo study, while the influence of this distance on the damage size we examined in an in vitro experiment, where an elastic membrane simulated the PC.

Setting:

Eye Hospital, University Medical Centre Ljubljana and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana.

Methods:

A high-resolution spectral domain OCT method was used in an in vivo study to measure the IOL/PC distance in different PCO types. The obtained results were used to design an in vitro experiment, where we studied the isolated influence of the distance between the solid boundary (imitating the IOL) and an elastic membrane (imitating the PC) on the size of membrane perforations. Different PCO types were simulated by different distances between the solid boundary and the elastic membrane.

Results:

Our results show that the procedure efficiency decreases by decreasing the IOL/PC distance. As a result, in the in vitro experiment, larger perforations of the membrane were obtained for higher IOL/PC distances, and lower total-pulse energy was needed in the in vivo study for treating PCO types with higher IOL/PC distances.

Conclusions:

Presented results explain that the IOL/PC distance is probably one of the most important factor that affects the total-pulse energy needed to create capsulotomy in different PCO types in clinical practice. We recommend PCO gradation based on the IOL/PC distance when studying the total-pulse energy needed for laser capsulotomy in different PCO types.

Financial Disclosure:

NONE