Quantifying the consequence of anterior-surface polishing time on the optical performance of wavefront-guided scleral lenses

The process for manufacturing wavefront-guided scleral lenses includes polishing both the anterior and posterior lens surfaces. The purpose of this study was to determine if extended front-surface polishing durations induce aberration changes in wavefront-guided scleral lenses that exceed manufacturing tolerances. Two sets of six scleral lenses were manufactured. Each set contained one reference lens with only sphere correction and five wavefront-guided scleral lenses, all of which shared the same wavefront-correcting optics. After cutting, the anterior surfaces of the five wavefront-guided lenses in both sets were polished for differing durations. Set 1 lenses were polished with a used polishing cloth, and Set 2 were polished with a brand-new polishing cloth. Aberrations in each polished lens were measured with a wavefront sensor and examined as a function of polishing time. Changes in aberrations that would be clinically significant and/or greater than manufacturing tolerances were not observed for the material or polishing times studied or the remaining lifetime of the polishing cloth.