comparison of visual outcomes between aspheric iols: tecnis z9000 and acrysof iq

purpose: to compare tecnis z9000 and acrysof iq aspheric intraocular lenses (iols) regarding spherical aberration and contrast sensitivity. methods: thirty-four eyes of 34 patients undergoing phacoemulsification cataract surgery were randomly assigned to implantation of tecnis or iq iols. three months postoperatively, best-corrected visual acuity (bcva), spherical aberration (with 4 and 6 mm pupil diameters) and contrast sensitivity in photopic and mesopic conditions at spatial frequencies of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 cycles per degree (cpd) were determined. results: mean bcva was 0.083±0.071 logmar in the iq group and 0.076±0.080 logmar in the tecnis group (p=0.338). spherical aberration in the tecnis group was smaller with pupil diameter of 4 mm (0.140±0.097 µm vs 0.183±0.107 µm, p= 0.609) but greater with pupil diameter of 6 mm (0.303±0.183 µm vs 0.26±0.069 µm, p= 0.40) as compared to the iq group. contrast sensitivity was higher in the tecnis group at 1, 2 and 5 cpd under photopic (not significant) and mesopic (p<0.001, p<0.08, p=0.2, respectively) conditions. conversely, contrast sensitivity was higher in the iq group at 10 and 20 cpd under photopic and mesopic conditions (not significant). conclusion: tecnis or iq iols seem to be comparable in terms of spherical aberration and contrast sensitivity.