Estimation of anterior nucleus of lens by Scheimpflug image before and after pupil dilatation.
PURPOSE: To compare the accuracy of lens transparency evaluations by Scheimpflug image in the anterior nucleus of the lens before and after pupil dilatation. METHODS: Scheimpflug lens images were recorded in 70 eyes of 38 subjects (age: 28-75 years) before and after pupil dilatation, and light scattering intensity measurements before and after dilatation were compared. RESULTS: There was a significant positive correlation between the light scattering intensity before and after dilatation at the anterior cortex, anterior nucleus, and central clear zone of the lens (r > 0.9, P <.0001). CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to estimate the transparency in the anterior nucleus of the lens from the Scheimpflug image without pupil dilatation. If nuclear type cataracts are regarded as a structural marker of aging in epidemiological studies, measuring the light scattering intensity in the anterior nucleus of the lens without dilatation seems to be a safe, useful, and quantitative method.