Ultrasonic power reduction during phacoemulsification using adjunctive NeoSoniX technology

Purpose: To compare the phacoemulsification times and powers used in 3 phacoemulsification machine configurations. Setting: Wolfe Eye Clinic, Marshalltown, Iowa, USA. Methods: A randomized prospective study of 410 consecutive cases was conducted. All cases were performed using the Alcon Legacy 20000 phacoemulsification machine. Configurations were the Standard Legacy 20000 machine (n = 165), Advantec upgraded Legacy 20000 (n = 112), and Advantec upgraded Legacy 20000 with NeoSoniX (n = 133). Preoperative measurements included the patient's age and cataract grade using the nuclear color (NC) scale of the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS 111). Intraoperative measurements included machine-measured phacoemulsification time and average percentage of maximum power expenditure. An independent statistician performed analysis of covariance on NC for each of the machine configurations. Results: The mean age in years and the NC value were similar in each group. There was no significant difference in phacoemulsification time in minutes among the 3 machines: Standard = 1.17, Advantec = 1.12, NeoSoniX = 1.16. The average percentage of maximum power consumption was similar for Standard Legacy 20000 at 38.00% and Advantec Legacy 20000 at 37.97% but significantly less for Advantec Legacy 20000 with NeoSoniX at 27.56% (P <.001). With the NeoSoniX-incorporated machine, compared with Standard and Advantec, a 27.5% reduction in ultrasonic energy power expenditure was observed all grades of nuclear density. Conclusions: The addition of 15% amplitude NeoSoniX rotational energy reduced total ultrasonic power expenditure by 27.5% for all cataract nuclear densities. (c) 2005 ASCRS and ESCRS.