Change in shape of the aging human crystalline lens with accommodation

The objective was to measure the change in shape of the aging human crystalline eye lens in vivo during accommodation. Scheim-pflug images were made of 65 subjects between 16 and 51 years of age, who were able to accommodate at least 1 D. The Scheimpflug images were corrected for distortion due to the geometry of the camera and the refraction of the cornea and anterior lens surface, which is necessary to determine the real shape of the lens. To ensure accurate correction for the refraction of the anterior lens surface, the refractive index of the crystalline lens must be determined. Therefore, axial length was also measured, which made it possible to calculate the equivalent refractive index of the lens and possible changes in this index during accommodation. The results show that during accommodation there is a decrease in both the anterior and the posterior radius of the lens, although the change in mm per diopter of the latter is much smaller. The increase in lens thickness with accommodation is higher than the decrease in the anterior chamber depth, indicating that the posterior lens surface moves backwards with accommodation. During accommodation the anterior lens surface becomes more hyperbolic. Furthermore, an increase in the equivalent refractive index during accommodation was determined. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.