Abstract

Study design: experimental in vitro study in eye bank corneas
Purpose: To assess the quality of vision and effectiveness of new protocols of collagen cross-linking in eye bank corneas
Methods: A Hartman shack wavefront sensor was used to assess the quality of vision and strength in 40 corneas, divided into four groups of 10 each. UVA irradiation with a total equivalent energy of 3 mW/cm2 for 30 minutes, 9 mW/cm2 for 10 minutes, and 18 mW/cm2 for 5 minutes, respectively, was used with a group of controls.
Results: The cornea becomes rigid in the centre and later gains strength in the periphery with time. The results for quality of vision were equivocal.
Conclusion Our results regarding the efficiency of low-irradiance collagen cross-linking (CXL) raise concerns about the clinical efficiency of the new high-irradiance CXL devices already used in clinical practise without proper validation.The quality of vision needs to be assessed with better settings