Blue light-filtering IOL significantly reduces driving glare disability

Using blue light-filtering IOLs, as opposed to UV-only filtering non-toric IOLs, produces a significantly greater reduction in glare disability when driving, reveals an investigation in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

Dr Rob Gray and his team, Department of Applied Psychology, Arizona State University, Mesa, Arizona, USA, conducted a comparative case series on patients wearing a blue light-filtering IOL (the test IOL) or an ultraviolet (UV)-only filtering non-toric IOL (the control IOL).

Patients were asked to perform left-turn manoeuvres in a driving simulator while wearing best spherocylindrical correction. Time to collision minus the time taken to turn at a junction into oncoming traffic was used to define the safety margin. The same process was repeated but during daytime driving conditions with a glare source.

The test IOL was administered to 18 patients and the control IOL was given to 15 patients. Safety margins were significantly greater in patients with the test IOL in situations where glare was present.

Patients with the test IOL presented with a significantly lower glare susceptibility than the control patients. The blue light-filtering IOL enabled drivers to turn left in situations where glare is present.