Straylight-Based Evaluation of Glare in Two Presbyopia-Correcting Intraocular Lenses

Background Presbyopia-correcting intraocular lenses (IOLs) provide a complete spectrum of vision but frequently induce dysphotopsia due to multiple focal points and diffractive designs. Standard straylight assessments using a C-Quant meter at a 7° visual angle often show no significant differences between evaluated IOLs. Therefore, evaluating glare effects effectively requires device modifications to demonstrate differences across lower visual angles. This study evaluates glare from the diffractive designs of two presbyopia-correcting IOLs. Material and Methods This in vitro laboratory study assessed two IOL models: the Clareon PanOptix (Alcon) and the Tecnis Odyssey (J&J Vision). Straylight was measured using a modified C-Quant straylight meter, allowing evaluation at the standard 7° angle as well as lower angles of 2.5° and 3.5°. Results At 7°, the Clareon PanOptix exhibited straylight of 0.29 ± 0.19 deg2/sr, while the Tecnis Odyssey showed an 8-fold higher value of 2.29 ± 0.60 deg2/sr. At 3.5°, the Clareon PanOptix measured 3.01 ± 0.88 deg2/sr, whereas the Tecnis Odyssey demonstrated more than twice the magnitude at 6.85 ± 0.68 deg2/sr. At the smallest angle of 2.5°, the Clareon PanOptix recorded 4.57 ± 0.12 deg2/sr. In contrast, the Tecnis Odyssey reached 9.34 ± 0.41 deg2/sr, approaching the reference value of a 65-year-old natural crystalline lens. Conclusion The Clareon PanOptix demonstrated substantially lower straylight values across all measured angles compared with the Tecnis Odyssey. This suggests a reduced potential for glare phenomena. Further research using validated patient-reported questionnaires is needed to correlate these objective findings with subjective visual disturbances. Quintessence in vitro straylight testing shows that the Clareon PanOptix IOL exhibits lower straylight levels than the Tecnis Odyssey across all measured angles. While clinical confirmation is needed, these findings suggest that the Clareon PanOptix may be associated with a lower risk of dysphotopsia related to its diffractive design.