OBJECTIVE MEASUREMENT OF THE OPTICAL QUALITY OF THE EYE

THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP AND TEST AN INSTRUMENT THAT WILL MAKE PHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS OF THE OPTICAL TRANSFER FUNCTION (OTF) OF THE HUMAN EYE. THIS INSTRUMENT, THE OPTICAL MEDIA ANALYZER (OMA), WILL PROVIDE CLINICIANS WITH NUMBERS THAT REFLECT THE OPTICAL QUALITY OF THE EYE. THE OMA IS EXPECTEDTO BE USEFUL IN PRE- AND POSTOPERATIVE EVALUATION OF CATARACT, SECONDARY CATARACT, AND CORNEAL SURGERY (INCLUDINGREFRACTIVE SURGERY). THE OMA IS ALSO EXPECTED TO BE USEFUL IN FOLLOWING THE NATURAL COURSE OF CATARACT DEVELOPMENT AND OF CORNEAL DISEASES. IT IS ALSO ANTICIPATED THAT THE OMA WILL BE AN IMPORTANT MEASURE OF THE OPTICAL QUALITY OF CONTACT LENSES ON THE EYE. PAST STUDIES OF THE OPTICAL QUALITY OF THE EYE HAVE EMPLOYED DOUBLE-PASS MEASURES OF THE LINE-SPREAD OR POINT-SPREAD FUNCTION. SUCH MEASURES INCLUDE CONFOUNDING INFORMATION FROM BACKSCATTER, SPECULAR REFLECTIONS, AND SCATTERED LIGHT IN THE RETINA. THE PROPOSED DESIGN OF THE OMA WILL PROVIDE FOR RAPID PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT OF THE OTF OF THE EYE, MINIMIZING THE CONTRIBUTION OF BACKSCATTER AND SPECULAR REFLECTION AND FACTORING OUT RETINAL LIGHT SCATTER.