Wide-field optical model of the human eye with asymmetrically tilted and decentered lens that reproduces measured ocular aberrations

Abstract

Eye models are valuable tools that can help delineate the role of anatomical parameters on visual performance and guide the design of advanced ophthalmic instrumentation. We propose an optically accurate wide-field schematic eye that reproduces the complete aberration profile of the human eye across a wide visual field. The optical performance of the schematic eye is based on experimentally measured wavefront aberrations taken with a four mm pupil for the central 80° of the horizontal meridian (101 eyes) and 50° of the vertical meridian (10 eyes). Across the entire field of view, our model shows excellent agreement with the measured data both comprehensively and for low-order and high-order aberrations. In comparison to previous eye models, our schematic eye excels at reproducing the aberrations of the retinal periphery. Also unlike previous models, tilt and decentering of the gradient refractive index crystalline lens, which arose naturally through the optimization process, permits our model to mimic the asymmetries of real human eyes while remaining both anatomically and optically correct. Finally, we outline a robust reverse building eye modeling technique that is capable of predicting trends beyond those defined explicitly in the optimization routine. Our proposed model may aid in the design of wide-field imaging instrumentation, including optical coherence tomography, scanning laser ophthalmoscopy, fluorescence imaging, and fundus photography, and it has the potential to provide further insights in the study and understanding of the peripheral optics of the human eye.