Crystalens IOL Lens Implants by Bausch & Lomb

Accommodating IOL

Crystalens AO® Accommodating Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lens

Crystalens® is the first and only FDA approved accommodating IOL.  Like multifocal IOLs, it is also used for visual correction after the removal of a cataract lens.  It is an IOL that accommodates like the eye's natural lens, allowing for focusing at distance, intermediate and near.  Accommodation is the ability to change focus throughout the range of vision much like a zoom lens. 

The Crystalens AO® by Bausch & Lomb (Rochester, NY) brings together traditional Crystalens accommodating lens technology with an aspheric lens design to help reduce aberrations.  Aberrations affect vision quality and when reduced it can enhance contrast sensitivity. This accommodating aspheric IOL attempts to deliver premium vision at all distances without any vision compromise. 

Another advantage is that optical performance is unaffected by pupil size or location of the optic due to uniform center-to-edge power, helping to have more consistent vision in various environments.

How Crystalens AO Works                                                       

The Crystalens® is attached to the ciliary muscle, a circular muscle that surrounds the lens in the eye. When the ciliary muscle contracts it bulges backwards and increases pressure behind the lens, thus forcing the optic forward. Relaxation of the muscle increases the pressure in front of the lens to move the optic backwards, thus enabling the lens to focus naturally at all distances.

Disadvantages of Crystalens AO

Crystalens continues to improve with each new generation of lens.  The Crystalens AO is another great improvement and a very good product.  However, nothing is perfect.  A disadvantage of the Crystalens® involves the possibility that the IOL won't accommodate as advertised, resulting in a need for glasses to read or to use a computer (just like what you'd get with monofocals).  Some recipients have had problems with glare and halos.  It also lacks adequate UV protection that is found in other IOLs.  This leaves the eye unprotected from the harmful rays of the sun.  Additionally, it requires a well experienced surgeon and may take up to one year to fully adapt. 

Furthermore, since the Crystalens is again considered "premium", additional surgery costs have to be considered.