New technology in the Eaglet Eye Surface Profiler has enabled great advances in minimizing high order aberrations which commonly accompany Post-LASIK and Post-RK Ectasia, Keratoconus and other conditions. The Eaglet is a piece of technology that maps over 350,000 points on the surface of an eye, including 100% of the cornea and up to 70% of the sclera (the white parts of an eye). With the data generated by the Eaglet, we have been able to custom-design Scleral Contact Lenses that help improve the vision of patients suffering with Ectasias, Keratoconus, and corneal dystrophies. But these new advances improve the lives of our patients even further by greatly reducing or totally eliminating High Order Aberrations.
What Are High Order Aberrations?
Low Order Aberrations are relatively minor imperfections that result in nearsightedness (Myopia) and farsightedness (Hyperopia). High Order Aberrations are more severe imperfections of the eye. Imagine looking through a clear pane of glass with minor waves and you’ll get a sense of Low Order Aberrations. Now replace that clear glass with a cut crystal goblet and you’ll begin to understand High Order Aberrations (HOA). Even if you’ve never experienced them before, you can easily imagine what this must be like. Your vision would include such issues as:
- Glare
- Flare
- Halos
- Double-Vision
- Triple-Visions
- Smudgy Vision
- Blurred Vision
Many patients don’t know their condition by the name High Order Aberrations, but instead complain of one or more of the preceding symptoms, all of which are common with a variety of eye conditions, including Keratoconus, Post-LASIK Ectasia and Post-RK Ectasia. The Eaglet helps us in minimizing High Order Aberrations better than was ever before possible.
Eaglet Eye Surface Profiler 5.0 — Correcting “Uncorrectable” Vision
This is where the Eaglet with its new Version 5 software is so helpful. Some Post-LASIK and Post-RK patients end up with 20-40 or even 20-20 vision, about which they are thrilled. But even with such accurate vision, they can still suffer from significant High Order Aberrations, which up to very recently were difficult if not impossible to accurately diagnose or treat.
That’s because seeing the glare, flare, halos and other aberrations that the patient sees would have required that we be able to virtually “see from inside the patients’ eyes,” which of course is not possible. But now we are now able to do bigger, wider scans to include more of the sclera. We end up with more data points and the ability to design more accurate lenses. More importantly, we combine the Eaglet data with data from our Marco OPD III with Wavefront optics, and we can literally “see” the same High Order Aberrations that our patient sees.
Patients are amazed when we print out a map of the high order aberrations that our instruments see. “That’s it! That’s what I see!” is a common reaction.
Our instruments allow us to design lenses that remain perfectly stable on the eye, and then build corrections for the High Order Aberrations at exactly the right spot on the scleral lens that will minimize the aberrations.
This is made easier with other advances in the Eaglet which allow us to send data directly to some of the top Scleral Lens Laboratories in the world, such as BostonSight Scleral Lenses (via their Boston Fitconnect software). We can also design lenses with bi-elevations in combination with asymmetric landing zones with ZenLens.
The result is a better fitting lens that produces perfect or near-perfect vision with minimized high order aberrations for most patients.
Zero-Power Scleral Contact Lenses
Our new ability with minimizing high order aberrations is so great that we now regularly see patients with already good vision (20/40 to 20/20) to create scleral contact lenses for them that have Zero corrective power, but are entirely designed to minimize high order aberrations.
This is such an effective treatment that we also are upgrading our patients (and patients from other offices) whose lenses were designed as recently as last year to new lenses made with the new Eaglet 5.0 technology. Their new vision is unquestionably better.
They are able to drive at night for the first time in years, attend evening events, and enjoy life more fully, all without additional surgery.
Minimize Your High Order Aberrations
If you are experiencing any of the conditions mentioned above, then isn’t it about time you stopped settling for a lower quality of life because of your poor vision? Minimizing High Order Aberrations can change your life. Come visit us at the California Keratoconus Center, where we have all the latest technology and the knowledge for how to use it. In fact, we are often called upon by manufacturers to train other doctors in their use. Make your appointment today by calling 818-891-6711 or using our online appointment form, and let’s get to work on minimizing your high order aberrations as soon as possible.
