Purpose: To develop and evaluate a standardized slitlamp photographic technique to document and quantify anterior capsule opacification (ACO) in the pseudophakic eye.
Setting: University of Vienna, Medical School, Department of Ophthalmology, Vienna, Austria.
Methods: In this prospective study, slitlamp photographs were taken in 29 eyes of 19 patients with ACO of varying degrees and intraocular lenses of different materials. Digital slitlamp photographs were taken by 2 examiners using a standardized protocol. The intensity of anterior fibrosis was evaluated using subjective grading by 2 masked examiners and by image analysis.
Results: A standardized protocol was developed for documentation of ACO. The intraexaminer (or short-term) reproducibility (r = 0.96, P < .01) and interexaminer reproducibility (r = 0.93, P < .01) were excellent. The results of image analysis used to objectively quantify ACO correlated with the subjective grading (r = 0.95, P < .01).
Conclusion: This standardized technique of slitlamp photography and image analysis provided reproducible documentation and can therefore serve as a basis for the quantification of ACO.