AN INNOVATIVE QUANTITATIVE-QUALITATIVE METHOD TO REDUCE GLARE AND PHOTOPHOBIA IN PATIENTS WITH ALBINISM AND OTHER RETINAL DISEASES

Purpose: Glare and photophobia are common, light induced phenomena that can significantly impact on visual performance, particularly in individuals with visual impairment. By addressing an optical aberration known as Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration (LCA), the authors propose a combined quantitative (reducing light transmittance) and qualitative method (filtering specific wavelengths and focusing the remaining ones on the retinal fundus) to mitigate chromatic defocus, and diminish glare and photophobia in patients with retinal pathologies. Methods: To reduce LCA, the authors assembled a pair of spectacles “Chromatic Aberration Reductive Lenses (C.A.R.L)” that are composed of two overlapped lenses. Spectrophotometry information has been employed and a software (C.A.R.L. software) has been developed to select and pair commercially available lenses according to the principle of the “achromatic doublet”. Results: Spectrophotometric analysis demonstrated that the C.A.R.L. prototype achieved greater reduction of blue-violet light transmittance compared with single-lens eyewear, and allows approximately an 80% transmittance across the visible spectrum. At the same time, the software calculations confirmed decreased absolute values of LCA resulting from dual-lens coupling. Conclusion: Our calculations indicate that a computational procedure that decomposes the patient’s refractive correction between two lenses is required to effectively compensate for distortions such as LCA. The authors hypothesize that this approach, when combined with the appropriate selection of filters, may be essential in reducing not only chromatic defocus but also glare and photophobia.