The spherical aberration of aphakic eyes corrected with intra‐ocular lenses

Abstract

The spherical aberration of eyes corrected with intra‐ocular lenses is investigated using a model eye with realistic levels of corneal asphericity. The results indicate that the aberration is intermediate between that of paraxial schematic eyes and real eyes. By using standard optical aberration theory, it is shown that for a plano‐convex lens with the curved surface facing the cornea, the aberration is similar to that of normal phakic eyes and therefore probably too low to be of any clinical significance. However, for other lens orientations or designs, the level of aberration is usually higher and may lead to a refractive error varying with pupil size and a loss of acuity with large pupil diameters.

Key words:

• spherical aberration
• intra‐ocular lenses
• refraction
• lens design
• asphericity