Gullstrand Intracapsular Accommodation Mechanism Revised

Abstract

More than a century has passed since Allvar Gullstrand proposed his so called “mechanism of intracapsular accommodation” based on the concept that the change in lens power during accommodation can be larger if the lens is modeled by two different refractive indexes (cortex and nucleus) than if it is homogenous. Intracapsular accommodation of the original eye model proposed by Gullstrand is compared with that of a six-surfaces model eye built based on actual experimental data obtained with precise imaging techniques of the lens change during accommodation. The results show that nearly half (42%) of the accommodation of the Gullstrand model eye is produced by said mechanism, while a model eye based on actual data produces a small intracapsular dis-accommodation. The main reason for the discrepancy is the larger change in the radii of curvature of the lens nucleus during accommodation proposed by Gullstrand, which is necessary because his model likely did not take into account the reduction in the change in lens power produced by depth-of-focus.