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Wavefront Customized Visual Correction: A Quest for Super Vision II

2005; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 82; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1097/01.opx.0000153192.88862.ab

1538-9235

Michael D. Twa,

Satellite Image Processing and Photogrammetry

Wavefront Customized Visual Correction: A Quest for Super Vision II Ronald R. Krueger, Raymond A. Applegate, and Scott M. MacRae Slack Inc., Thorofare, New Jersey, 2004, $194.95 (in either printed or CD-ROM format) This book is 397 pages and is available as a hardcover book or as an Adobe Acrobat portable document file (PDF) on CD-ROM. I had access to the text in both formats. The title of this work is perfectly descriptive of the material covered. The authors offer the clinical community their second installment on the topic of customized vision correction. The requisite researchers contribute to this text—Applegate, Thibos, Schwiegerling, Williams, Artal, and several others—adding expertise from their individual perspectives. As expected, much of this text is devoted to customized corneal refractive surgery, but there are some interesting additions, such as chapters on the use of adaptive optics in retinal imaging and the surgical treatment of presbyopia that seem out of place and perhaps a bit gratuitous. The 374 pages of text (not including the appendix and index) have a total of 42 chapters divided into five sections: Introduction, Wavefront Diagnostic Standards, Wavefront Customized Corneal Ablation, Wavefront Customized Lenses, and Nonwavefront Customized Corrections. Several of these sections are further divided into Basic Science and Clinical Science subsections. Much of the text is devoted to making the case that custom vision correction to reduce higher-order optical aberrations is a worthy endeavor. Although the authors have compiled a large body of evidence to show the theoretical benefits of this objective, skeptical clinicians could be better swayed by more clinical evidence. Relatively less space (46 pages) is devoted to clinical outcomes of custom wavefront-guided ablation. The introductory chapters are extremely useful. Although many of the later chapters repeat portions of the introductory information, this repetition is helpful as reinforcement. Because it is unlikely that this text will be read cover to cover in order, the repetition will probably help most readers. Other portions of this book that are worthy of specific mention are Chapter 25 by Joel Javier et al. and Chapter 37 by Pablo Artal. Chapter 25, Wound Healing in Customized Corneal Ablation, is an excellent treatment of this topic. In Chapter 37, Combining Corneal and Ocular Wave Aberrations, Artal addresses several of the important issues related to correct measurement and interpretation of optical aberrations from the major optical components of the eye. Overall, this text is a good introduction for clinicians to the concepts, language, and issues involved in trying to achieve the goal of custom vision correction. As a reference for vision scientists engaged in serious research in this field, it is well worth having on the shelf for the literature review alone. As for substance, in several of the basic science sections, the content felt a bit like having well drinks during happy hour; it seemed watered down, and I found myself searching for more. For example, the metrics to predict the subjective impact of wavefront aberrations described in Chapter 8 are more a conceptual discussion than a reference for application or implementation of such metrics. I found Chapter 21, Comparing Wavefront Devices, at the other end of the spectrum. This comparative real-world experience was like watching embedded reporting from the front lines of the clinical trenches. The information is timely, useful, and engaging. There were two omissions that deserve mention. First, there was little discussion of the limitations, risks, and complications of attempted custom vision correction. Readers are led to believe that at its worst, failed custom vision correction is ineffective and innocuous. Second, there are at least multiple strategies for providing custom vision correction, and little time and space are devoted to wavefront-guided ablation alternatives, such as custom correction guided by corneal topography. In summary, this text is an excellent introduction and reference for clinicians wishing to know more about what is at stake in the challenge to deliver custom vision correction. Concepts are well illustrated, and important clinical interpretations are conveniently highlighted by editorial callouts throughout the text. This work is the comprehensive summary of clinical applications of ocular wavefront sensing. Those wishing to know more about how vision science is developing in this field may be surprised at how much we know and how quickly knowledge is evolving. At this rate, I suspect a third edition cannot be far behind. For those interested in the CD-ROM version of this book, the software needed to view the text (Adobe Reader) comes packaged with the disc. There are some potential advantages to this format over a conventional hardbound textbook, including better portability, search capabilities, intuitive navigation, text display at multiple resolutions, and display on multiple devices such as PDA’s and other portable computers. Readers will have to decide which format to purchase (paperbound book or CD-ROM). If they want both, they will have to pay twice, as if they are purchasing a second book. Installation was simple and painless for me; the publisher appears to have created an installation process that is reliable and painless. However, choose wisely. Installation is tied to a single copy installed on a single machine. Although it would be nice to port this text around on my Palm Pilot and have access to it on my desktop computer as well, buyers do not get this option. Until publishers find strategies that satisfy their copyright concerns and this reader’s desire to experience the same conveniences enjoyed with hardcopy publications, I will still prefer my books in paper, not plastic. Speaking as a savvy computer user, I have yet to find a publisher who has overcome all the challenges of publishing in this new medium. Slack should be congratulated for having the courage and creativity to plunge into this new medium (electronic publishing). However, buyers should be savvy about what they get for their purchase. It is worth repeating that readers do not get the text in both CD-ROM and paper formats; it will be one or the other unless both are purchased separately. The implications of their single installation site license policy are a significant problem for me. I upgrade computers about every 18 to 24 months, on average. Slack’s licensing restriction will prevent me from taking the text with me to my new machine. If my hard drive ever fails (fortunately a rare event), customer service has assured me that my license to use the book could be restored. If my daughter sits on the disc and breaks it (I lost a favorite audio CD this way once), it is gone as well. Granted, unanticipated events can destroy a hardcover book, too, but with this new medium comes a new set of potential problems. Michael Twa College of Optometry The Ohio State University Columbus, OhioFigure