Variations in manufacturing quality of diffractive multifocal lenses.

The new generation of multifocal intraocular lenses (IOLs) based on diffraction optics is characterized by a stepped discontinuity at zone boundaries on the posterior surface of the IOL optic. The step height at the zone boundaries is less than 2 microns. There are approximately 30 zones on a 6 mm diameter lens, requiring manufacturing precision of about 0.02 mm. Various companies produce this type of lens. On two implanted lenses we found, in addition to the 2 microns boundaries, many small circular rims that appeared to be manufacturing artifacts. The presence of these artifacts may explain the variable clinical acceptance of these IOLs.