The purpose of the study is to see if brighter lights will allow for shortening of the treatment time required to stabilize the eyes of patients with keratoconus or a bulging cornea. The investigators will be comparing the therapeutic effects of two different higher brightnesses of ultra violet light on a riboflavin treated eye. One light will be twice as bright as the other and the exposure time of these brighter lights to deliver equivalent energy to the cornea will be reduced from the standard 30 minutes to 10 and 5 minutes. Riboflavin is vitamin B2 and the investigators are trying to determine if an identical clinical effect can be achieved the brighter treatment lights are used for shorter times. The investigators will also monitor the clinical effect and the status of the cornea to see if additional risks are associated with the brighter light.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
The device's light emitting diode (LED) is used to deliver a metered dose of Ultraviolet A (UVA) light to a targeted treatment area for illuminating the cornea during corneal collagen cross-linking. The aperture setting will be set at 10 mm, and the eye will be irradiated for 10 minutes for the high irradiance exposure of 9 milliwatts (mW)/cm2. During the exposure, instillation of riboflavin will continue (1 drop every 3 minutes).
The speculum is removed and one (1) drop of Riboflavin 0.1% ophthalmic solution will be instilled topically in the eye every 3 minutes for 30 minutes. At the end of the 30 minute riboflavin pre-treatment period, the eye will be examined to assure the presence of a yellow flare in the anterior chamber, indicating riboflavin saturation of the corneal tissue. If the yellow flare is not detected, riboflavin will continue to be instilled until the presence of the yellow flare in the anterior chamber is confirmed. During UVA irradiation, instillation of riboflavin will be continued every 3 minutes. For a 30-minute pre-treatment and 30-minute irradiation, the total dose of riboflavin solution is approximately 32 drops, or 1.6 ml (1 drop = 0.05 ml; 1.6 mL = 1.6 mg riboflavin).
Edward Harkness Eye Institute-Columbia University Medical Center
New York, New York, United States
Change in Total Optical Aberrations of the Cornea following Cross-Linking
Assessment of changes in corneal curvature, as analyzed using a Pentacam Scheimpflug Analyzer will be used in all patients. This allows measurement of corneal thickness, maximum and minimum curvatures and aberration analysis of the cornea as an optical element. The most significant objective measure of change is the total Higher Order Aberrations of the cornea and the Kmax, or steepest curvature of the cornea. Analysis of corneal curvature is directly related to improvement in the corneal shape which is directly related to visual function.
Time frame: Baseline to 6 months
This platform is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional.