ARVO 2025: New research reveals new marker for presbyopic accommodation

Investigators used 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure and monitor geometric alterations in patients with varying stages of presbyopia.

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Research conducted by CooperVision and University of Rochester Flaum Eye Institute, in collaboration with the Instituto de Optica “Daza de Valdés,” may have identified a novel marker for presbyopic accommodation. This discovery—which will be presented in a paper at the 2025 ARVO annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday, May 7—explores the change in both anterior segment and lens geometry according to accommodative demand.

Inside the study

The paper, “OCT-based marker for accommodative effort in presbyopes,” explores changes in the anterior segment and crystalline lens geometry in relation to accommodative demand. While the study included a range of subjects in a variety of stages of presbyopia, the change was most pronounced in emmetropic and myopic presbyopes. Investigators used 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT) to measure and monitor geometric alterations in patients with varying stages of presbyopia. Focusing ability remained, even when reduced, and crystalline lens thickness was the key marker for focusing effort, particularly in myopes.

“We believe this is the first in vivo study to show the evolution of physiological response of the crystalline lens as adults age,” Percy Lazon de la Jara, director of research programs for CooperVision and a paper co-author, said in a press release. “CooperVision’s deep commitment to advancing ocular science and care means evaluating the entire eye, including how it changes from presbyopia onset through stabilization. This latest work—employing a remarkable application of OCT to uncover previously unavailable insights—will help map optical corrections that could be incorporated into future presbyopia correction methods and devices.”

Investigators believe new marker for accommodation in presbyopes has the power to drive future category innovation. The paper will be presented in full in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, May 1, 2025, at ARVO 2025.