Wavefront Aberrations and the Image Quality of the Eye

The optical performance of the human eye is not ideal: it has long been recognized that it is diffraction limited only for relatively small pupil diameters. For larger diameter pupils the aberrations of the eye’s optics come into play, limiting visual acuity and contrast sensitivity. With the development of new surgical techniques for correcting the optics of the eye, there has been a renewed interest in developing accurate, reproducible techniques for measuring the wave-front aberrations of the human eye as well as for studying changes in the optics of the eye with age.  We have been using a rapid psychophysical technique (ref 2 below) to measure the optical performance of the human eye.   Using this we have quantitatively investigated the change in optical image quality of the eye with accommodation, aging and wavelength.  Wavelength especially is a major factor that will limit the achievable improvement in the eyes optics for natural stimuli.  

  1. Warnicki J, Rehkopf P, Curtin DY, Burns SA, Arffa RC, and Stuart J "Corneal topography using computer analyzed rasterstereographic images". Applied Optics. 27, 1135-1140, 1988.(full text)
  2. Burns, SA and Webb, RH. "Optical Generation of the Visual Stimulus", In: Bass,M. van Stryland, EW, Williams, DR and Wolfe, WI, (eds) The Handbook of Optics, McGraw Hill, New York, 28 1-27,1994.(full-text)
  3. He J.C., Marcos S, Webb, R.H. Burns, S.A. "Measurement of the Wave-front aberration of the eye using a fast psychophysical procedure"  Journal of the Optical Society of America A 15, 2449 - 2456, 1998. (full text)
  4. Marcos, S, Burns, S.A., Moreno-Barriuso, E. and Navarro, R. "A new approach to the study of ocular chromatic aberrations" Vision Research 39, 4309-4324, 1999. (full text).

  5. He, JC, Burns, S.A., and Marcos, S. "Monochromatic Aberrations in the Accommodated Human Eye" Vision Research 40, 41-8, 2000.(full text)

  6. Marcos, S, Burns, S.A. "On the symmetry between eyes of wavefront aberration and cone directionality", Vision Research 40, 2437- 2447, 2000. (full text).
  7. A movie of the change in the optical mtf of the eye as a function of pupil size.
  8. Burns, SA, and Marcos, S " Measurement of the Image Quality of the eye with the Spatially Resolved Refractometer", in Customized Corneal Ablations MacRae, Krueger, and Applegate (eds), Slack Publishing, (2000).  (full text)
  9. Webb, R.H. Burns, SA. Penney, M, "Coaxial Spatially Resolved Refractometer" United States Patent 6,000,800, 1999.
  10. Moreno-Barriuso E, Marcos, S, Navarro, R, Burns SA “Comparing Laser Ray Tracing, Spatially Resolved Refractometer And Hartmann-Shack Sensor To Measure The Ocular Wave Aberration” Optometry and Visual Science 78,152 - 156, 2001. (full text).
  11. McLellan JS, Marcos S, and Burns SA "Aging and Wavefront Aberrations" Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 42, 1390-1403, 2001 (full text).
  12. Marcos S, Burns, SA, Prieto, P, Navarro, RN, Baraibar, B Investigating The Sources For Monochromatic Aberrations And Transverse Chromatic Aberration In Human Eyes Vision Research 41 (28) 3861-3871, 2001.(full text).
  13. Prieto, PM, Vargas-Martín,F, McLellan, JS, Burns, SA  "The effect of polarization on ocular wave aberration measurements", J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis 19: 809-814, 2002. (full text)
  14. Burns, SA, Marcos, S, Elsner, AE, Bara, S, “Contrast Improvement for Confocal Retinal Imaging Using Phase Correcting Plates”  Optics Letters. 27: 400-402, 2002.(full text)
  15. McLellan, J.S. Marcos S, Prieto PM & Burns, SA “Imperfect Optics may be the Eye’s Defense Against Chromatic Blur”, Nature 417: 174-176, 2002. (full text)
  16. Yang, Y, Thompson, K, and Burns, SA “Pupil location under mesopic, photopic, and pharmacologically dilated conditions” Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science 43 2508-2512, 2002. (full text)
  17. Webb, RH, Penney, CM, Sobiech, J, Staver, PR, and Burns, SA,  “The SRR: a null-seeking aberrometer”  Applied Optics 42:  736-744,2002.58.
  18. Thompson, K.P., Staver, P.R., Garcia, JR, Burns, SA, Webb, RH, and Stulting, RD. Using InterWave® Aberrometry to Measure and Improve the Quality of Vision in LASIK Surgery. American Journal of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology 111(7): 1368-1379, 2004  (full text)
  19. Webb, RH, Albanese, MJ, Zhou, Y, Bifano, T and Burns, SA “A stroke amplifier for deformable mirrors” Applied Optics 43(28), 5330-5333 , 2006
  20.  J. S. McLellan, P. M. Prieto, S. Marcos and S. A. Burns, Effects of interactions among wave aberrations on optical image quality, Vision Research 46 (18), 3009, 2006
  21.  Hammer,DX, Ferguson, RD, Bigelow CD, Iftimia , NV, Ustun te, Burns, SA, "Adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscope for stabilized retinal imaging", Opt. Express 14, 3354-3367 2006
  22. Biss, D, Sumorok, D, Burns, SA, Webb RH, Zhou Y, Bifano, T, Veilleux I, Zamiri P, and Lin C. “In vivo flourescent imaging of the mouse retina using adaptive optics” Optics Letters Vol. 32, Issue 6, pp. 659-661
  23. Burns, SA, Tumbar R, Elsner AE, Ferguson RD, Hammer DX “Large Field of View, Modular, Stabilized, Adaptive-Optics-Based Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscope” . J. Opt. Soc Amer, JOSA A, Vol. 24, Issue 5, pp. 1313-1326. 2007
  24. Llorente, L, Marcos, S, Dorronsoro C, Burns SA, “The effect of sampling on real ocular aberration measurements” JOSA A.24 (5), 2784-2796, 2007