A Space Age View into Human Vision: Abbott’s iDesign Dx System

A new diagnostic tool is giving U.S. ophthalmologists better … well … vision, so to speak—into their patients’ eyes.

The new iDesign Dx system from the Medical Optics division of Abbott Park. Ill.-based Abbott Labs, can capture five optical measurements in one three-second scan to determine the patient’s visual abnormalities. According to the company, the device measures the internal optics and surface of the eye more precisely than conventional methods, allowing doctors to fully evaluate imperfections that result in poor vision. Obtaining these measurements in one three-second scan enables ophthalmologists to screen patients more efficiently to determine if they are eligible for LASIK or other refractive surgery and to assist in diagnosis of other conditions.

The iDesign Dx system uses advanced wavefront sensing technology to measure and map “aberrated” eyes – i.e., eyes with visual irregularities. This same technology, developed by Abbott scientists, was used by NASA to measure and precisely shape the mirrors in the James Webb Space Telescope to ensure it transmits high-resolution images of deep space back to Earth after it launches in 2018. 

“The same technology used to measure optics in space telescopes has now been applied to the eye with the iDesign Dx system, allowing us to take microscopically-precise measurements of the eye with greatly increased resolution,” said Steven Schallhorn, M.D., clinical professor, University of California San Francisco Department of Ophthalmology. “These higher-resolution measurements provide details that improve our ability to measure ocular aberrations with accuracy, precision and greater dynamic range.”

The iDesign Dx system measures the optical system, but also individual components of the eye. This means it can capture the shape of the cornea; its curvature/power; the ocular wavefront; a patient’s refraction (how light passes through the eye); and pupil diameter under different lighting conditions—all in one scan of the eye. 

The wavefront sensor measures all aspects of light: its intensity or brightness, as well as the light ray angles on the eye. By sending a beam of light into a patient’s optical system and measuring the quantity and quality of light that bounces back, the wavefront sensor provides important data on the performance of the system, as well as where improvement is needed.

“The iDesign Dx system, at its core, is the next generation of wavefront technology—most significantly, the improved degree of resolution that can now be captured,” said Schallhorn. “Passing through the optics of the eye, the wavefront technology projects a small spot of light on the retina. That light scatters from the retina and is collected by the lens in the eye through the cornea and then travels back into the instrument.”

The system’s wavefront sensor is made from a tiny micro lens array comprising thousands of lenslets, each the diameter of a human hair. This lens array increases the resolution of the wavefront scan five-fold, according to the company. With this data, ophthalmologists can see increased details of the cornea and the optical system. 

The iDesign Dx is approved in the United States for diagnostic use. In Europe and a number of countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, Japan, and New Zealand, the iDesign Advanced WaveScan Studio is currently approved for LASIK treatment, planning, screening and diagnostics. The iDesign Advanced WaveScan Studio is not approved in the United States.