ASSESSMENT OF ACCOMMODATION FROM REAL-TIME MONITORING OF THE REFRACTIVE STATE OF THE EYE

A new method and computer program for characterizing ocular accommodation have been developed. The method comprises measuring spherical refractive errors of an eye for dif- ferent additional optical powers with respect to reference refraction: calculating the behav- ior of an accommodation signal of the eye and analyzing the behavior of the accommoda- tion signal. Partners to further develop the system and/or to establish commercial agreements along with technical cooperation are sought. Accommodation, that is, the capacity of the eye to focus at different distances, must be completely avoided during subjective refraction to find the right combination of lenses that compensates for the ocular ametropia (myopia, hypermetropia, and astigmatism). In children and young adults, control of accommodation is a challenging task due to their involuntary tendency to accommodate. Accommodation is usually controlled by instilling cyclopegic drops to temporally paralyze the ciliary muscle (however, its effects may persist beyond the test by limiting the visual capacity, which might be uncomfortable for the patient) or by placing positive (fogging) lenses in front of the eye to relax it. However, there is no certainty about the true accommodation state of the eye when the fogging The Centre for Sensors Instruments and Systems Development (CD6) of the UPC has developed a technology that allows retrieving the accommodation response and determining by objective means when accommodation activates during subjective refraction. The technology is composed by an instrument that measures, in real-time, the accommodation state and may be coupled to commercial phoropters, which are the instruments used by optometrist and ophthalmologists to perform the subjective refraction. The information retrieved by the system may be given to clinicians to ensure the non-accommodation for the subjective refraction found.