PHENOMENOLOGICAL MODEL FOR INTERPRETING THE CLINICAL-SIGNIFICANCE OF THE IN-VITRO OPTICAL TRANSFER-FUNCTION

We describe a methodology to predict the outcome of clinical tests cau sed by changes made to the optical elements of the human eye. This for malism, called the expected visual outcome model, is based on in vitro measurements of the optical transfer function and takes into account a simple model of human threshold performance. The clinical tests unde r consideration are high-contrast visual acuity and contrast sensitivi ty. Using the expected visual outcome, we describe a useful performanc e index called the predicted visual acuity graph, which can be measure d clinically. The theoretical results are compared with visual functio n measured in patients with pseudophakic (multifocal and monofocal) im plants.