Human Visual System MTF and Threshold Contrast

doi:10.1117/3.2265069.ch12

Book: A System Engineering Approach to Imaging

Author(s): Norman S. Kopeika

Published: 1998

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.2265069.ch12

Author Affiliations +

Abstract

In the study of the behavior of optical systems it is essential to know how the human eye interacts with the output of those systems. The ultimate quality of an image depends directly on the modulation transfer function (MTF) and on the threshold contrast function of the human visual system. These also determine the optimum distance of the observer from the display so as to view a target of given size (Exercise 12.4). To begin to understand these, a knowledge of the physiology of the eye is essential.