Quantification of lens opacification with a commercially available lensometer.

A clinical trial was undertaken to determine whether a commercially available lens opacity meter (LM701), which measures backward scattered light from the lens, provides reliable clinical information about the effect of lens opacities on visual acuity. At the 0.001 level of probability we found a significant relationship between the lens opacity meter reading and both the Snellen acuity and patient's age. For a given individual there was also a relationship between the difference in the lens opacity readings between eyes and the difference in the Snellen acuities. We could not demonstrate a relation between the lens opacity reading and either the refractive error, pupil size, or near visual acuity at this level of significance.