IOL Con database awaits input

Getting the A-constant right is essential for accurately calculating intraocular lens (IOL) power. And optimising standard A-constants to reflect systematic biases in surgeons’ unique measurement and surgical processes is an important step. The IOL Con online database offers a modern and convenient solution, Sibylle Scholtz PhD told the 38th Congress of the ESCRS Since its introduction in 1999, optical biometry has transformed cataract surgery planning, said Dr Scholtz, of the Institute of Experimental Ophthalmology, Saarland University, Homburg/Saar, Germany. That same year, Wolfgang Haigis PhD, professor at the University of Würzburg, Germany, set up the User Group for Laser Interference Biometry (ULIB) database of IOL constants. It was based on optical biometry that he calculated based on surgeon reports, paving the way for effective use of the new technology. However, using offline spreadsheets and static constant lists, ULIB no longer meets modern requirements, Dr Scholtz said. To meet modern standards, Achim Langenbucher PhD, professor of medical optics, Saarland University, built on Prof Haigis’ ideas of an internet database to develop IOL Con in 2017. Prof Langenbucher envisioned the modern database as an interactive, open concept, accessible by all IOL and biometer manufacturers, as well as surgeons. The web-based design is easy to use, providing all relevant lens data at a glance, using XML as a public and documented data transfer format. Its data are provided by two user groups, manufacturers and ophthalmic surgeons, and are constantly updated. This makes it an up-to-date overview of available IOLs, with all relevant technical, geometric and material characteristics, Dr Scholtz said. IOL Con features easy uploading and downloading of data on biometry and implanted IOLs, including postoperative refraction, which are needed to optimise personal constants. It also continuously updates global constants based on community data. IOL Con is free of charge for ophthalmic surgeons. IOL Con has grown steadily. As of Sept 2020, it included data on 414 IOL models from 28 manufacturers and featured 19,000 clinical data sets on 105 IOL models. Biometry manufacturers are integrating IOL Con data into their devices, including, with the next software update, Zeiss’s IOLMaster 700, Dr Scholtz said. “IOL Con offers much more than a simple static table. It is a global interactive, up-to-date, modern internet platform that provides ophthalmo-surgeons with all IOL characteristics, which are updated constantly. By implementing IOL Con a biometry database is already available today to meet the future demands of ongoing developing ophthalmo-surgery,” Dr Scholtz concluded. Sibylle Scholtz: sibylle.scholtz@gmx.de https://iolcon.org/