PAINT-SPREAD FUNCTION FOR LIGHT SCATTERED IN THE HUMAN OCULAR FUNDUS

A model based on the framework of fundal reflectance model III is deve loped for the lateral spreading of light that emerges from the human o cular fundus after scattering in the choriocapillaris and the choroida l stroma. Blood in these layers is modeled as a forward scatterer, and the Kubelka-Munk diffuse radiation environment used for the choroid i n model III is replaced by an arrangement of embedded reflectors that gives the same remittance. An equation is derived for the point-spread function, and sample calculations illustrate the dependence of the sp reading function on retinal site and wavelength and identify the chara cteristic influences of the long-wavelength edge of the 575-nm oxyhemo globin absorption band and the choroidal melanin.