PURPOSE: To conduct an experimental comparison of three multifocal intraocular lenses (MIOLs) based on the evaluation of halo formed by an on-bench model eye.

METHODS: The MIOLs were enVista Envy™ (B+L), AcrySof™ PanOptix™ (Alcon) and Tecnis Odyssey™ (J&J). For halo imaging, 20.0 D lenses using 3.0- and 4.5-mm apertures at the IOL plane (IOL-pupils) were employed. Furthermore, the optical bench incorporates an ISO 2 model eye (ISO 11979-2:2014) with a cornea with spherical aberration of +0.27 µm for a 5.15 mm IOL-pupil and a white light source per ANSI Z80.35-2018 guidelines. The test object was a pinhole placed optically at infinite of 3.44 arcmin angular size. Overall, the set up simulated viewing a car headlight (20 cm) at 200 meters.

RESULTS: Figure 1 illustrates the halos obtained with 3.0 and 4.5 mm IOL pupils from the three multifocal IOLs. All images are shown with gamma correction to meet ANSI requirements, while the intensity profile is displayed on a logarithmic scale. With the smallest pupil, the three MIOLs show similar halos (size and intensity). With the 4.5 mm pupil, however, Envy presents the smallest halo (20.6 ± 0.5 arcmin) followed by Odyssey (24.5 ± 0.5 arcmin) and PanOptix (30.5 ± 0.5 arcmin). Table 1 summarizes the results.

CONCLUSIONS: The halo size stability observed in the Envy, attributable to its distinctive diffractive profile—specifically its apodization and customized step-manufacturing process—indicates a reduced sensitivity to pupil diameter. In contrast, PanOptix and Odyssey exhibit larger halo variations with increasing pupil size, which may be disadvantageous for patients with naturally large pupils. Clinical evaluation is necessary to determine the impact of the halos on the visual quality of the patients implanted with these MIOLs.