A RAY TRACER FOR OPHTHALMOLOGICAL APPLICATIONS

Ray tracing with a personal computer allows realistic simulation of op tical properties of the human eye. Patterns of point sources are used as objects. The path of light rays is calculated between the point sou rce and the retina for a Gullstrand eye model with improved parameters ; the normal eye model has a resolution limit close To the natural res olution limit of the human eye. The image formed on the retina is proj ected back to a screen at the distance of the object so as to simulate image interpretation by the brain. Refractive errors are modeled by a change in eye parameters and corrected by eyeglasses or/and contact l enses or by an artificial intraocular lens. For optic correction the p arameters of seeing aids can be fitted automatically by a least-square s routine. The effect of faulty eye correction on image quality is vis ualized by using a photograph of a realistic scene as an object.