The human eye is a complex optical system with multiple elements. It is aspheric, nonsymmetric, and time dependent; yet, overall it has incredible performance. There have been various instruments developed over the years to measure and then to guide treatment to correct for ocular aberrations. As the development of these instruments (and treatments) has progressed, we have sought to correct more difficult cases, which may be more aberrated, time-dependent, or difficult in some other way. To this end, we have developed a new dynamic aberrometer that expands the boundaries of measurement capability with the aim of measuring and treating more difficult cases. This aberrometer has been designed that incorporates high-resolution Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensing, full gradient (spot) corneal topography, dynamic acquisition, and a subjective digital refractometer. This instrument is designed to measure extremely high aberrations and to provide information for treatment in multiple modalities. A small clinical study was conducted with subjects ranging from 23 to 64 years old to evaluate the effectiveness of the dynamic analysis at selecting a refraction. Examples are presented for measurements with keratoconus, irregular corneas, and tear-film irregularity. In the clinical study, young subjects showed an overall +0.27 D reduction in instrument induced myopia using dynamic measurement compared to a snapshot. The instrument has a large dynamic range for measuring subjects with keratoconus and other aberrated corneal conditions. The new instrument is effective at providing information needed for treatment in multiple modalities. The subjective digital refractometer corrects the fixation target for the objectively measured low-order aberrations (defocus and astigmatism). This provides immediate subjective feedback on the objective refraction and, with the ability to manually adjust the refraction parameters, the ability to compare objective and subjective refractions in the same setting.
Human vision correction optics must be produced in quantity to be economical. At the same time every human eye is unique and requires a custom corrective solution. For this reason the vision industries need fast, versatile and accurate methodologies for characterizing optics for production and research. Current methods for measuring these optics generally yield a cubic spline taken from less than 10 points across the surface of the lens. As corrective optics have grown in complexity this has become inadequate. The Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor is a device that measures phase and irradiance of light in a single snapshot using geometric properties of light. Advantages of the Shack-Hartmann sensor include small size, ruggedness, accuracy, and vibration insensitivity. This paper discusses a methodology for designing instruments based on Shack-Hartmann sensors. The method is then applied to the development of an instrument for accurate measurement of transmissive optics such as gradient bifocal spectacle lenses, progressive addition bifocal lenses, intrarocular devices, contact lenses, and human corneal tissue. In addition, this instrument may be configured to provide hundreds of points across the surface of the lens giving improved spatial resolution. Methods are explored for extending the dynamic range and accuracy to meet the expanding needs of the ophthalmic and optometric industries. Data is presented demonstrating the accuracy and repeatability of this technique for the target optics.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.