PURPOSE: Of all transforms of an eye, aberrations are significant when high
er visual acuity is to be achieved. Ray tracing aberrometry developed by th
e Institute of Biomedical Engineering (Kiev) and first tested at the Vardin
oyannion Eye Institute of Crete is a promising technique for eye refraction
aberration and refraction mapping.
METHODS: The technique uses measurement of the position of a thin laser bea
m projected onto the retina. The beam is directed into the eye parallel to
the visual axis. Each entrance point provides its own projection on the ret
ina. A set of entrance points forms a set of projections. From these data,
a refraction map is reconstructed as well as a point spread function of the
eye, The total time of scanning over the whole aperture of the eye is with
in 10 to 20 ms and depends on the number of test points at the eye entrance
, as well as on the number of independent measurements in each point. Confi
guration of the scanning pattern can be chosen by the operator. It may cont
ain 60 to 400 points, each checked 1 to 5 times.
RESULTS: Preliminary studies showed high reproducibility of results, Twenty
pseudophakic eyes were subjected to 30 consecutive measurements each. Nine
ty-five percent of all measured values were within +/-0.20 D of declination
from the mean.
CONCLUSIONS: Ray tracing aberrometry is a flexible technology for eye inves
tigation. It can be adapted to any laser technique of vision correction its
further development should be oriented on laser-linked applications of the
refraction driven refractive surgery.