Theoretical calculation of a contact lens thickness designed to correct the eye's monochromatic aberrations

The aim of this work is the theoretical study of high order aberration compensation in the human eye.

This compensation should be achieved with uneven thickness contact lenses (rigid gas permeable or soft), capable of inducing a localized delay on the aberrated wavefront, so that light beams originated on a point object would reach the retina at a common point, irrespective of their point of passage through the pupil.

The algorithm for optimal local contact lens thickness determination is explained. For this purpose the aberrated wavefront measured on a patient by the double-pass technique was expressed in terms of Zernike polynomials. The knowledge of the wave aberration as a function of the point of passage through the pupil allows determination of the delay to be introduced in order to produce a wavefront as would result from non-aberrated eye, where all rays would reach the same point on the retina.

The explanation of how it would be possible to correct wavefront deviations, by varying an RGP or soft contact lens thickness, was made, and a particular eye exemplify.