Comparison of corneal astigmatism measurements of 2 optical biometer models for toric intraocular lens selection.

Purpose: To compare corneal astigmatism measurements obtained using a new optical biometer (AL-Scan) and a standard biometer based on partial coherence interferometry (IOLMaster 500) for toric intraocular lens (IOL) selection.

Setting: Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand.

Design: Prospective comparative study.

Methods: Keratometry (K) readings were taken with the 2 biometers in eyes of cataract patients. The corneal astigmatism readings from the 2 devices were compared. The cylinder measurements were transformed into J0 and J45 vector components for analysis, and the devices' values were compared using the paired t test. Correlation coefficients were calculated. The Bland-Altman method was used to evaluate the agreement between the sets of measurements.

Results: One hundred thirty-seven eyes (81 patients) were enrolled. The magnitude of astigmatism between the new biometer 2.4 mm zone and the standard biometer was similar (P = .19). There was a statistically significant difference between values from the new biometer 3.3 mm zone and the standard biometer (P < .05). There was good correlation in the overall magnitude of astigmatism between devices. There was a trend of low correlation toward the flat cornea (K <43.0 diopters [D]), low corneal cylinder (<1.0 D), and with-the-rule astigmatism. The IOL toricity calculated from both devices was similar.

Conclusions: Corneal astigmatism measurements with the 2 biometers were similar in magnitude, especially in 2.4 mm zone of the new biometer. There was no difference in the toric IOL selections between the devices.

Financial Disclosure: No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.