Evaluation of a clinical aberrometer for lower-order accuracy and repeatability, higher-order repeatability, and...

Refractive surgery has stimulated the development of aberrometers, which are instruments that measure higher-order aberrations. The purpose of this study was to test one clinical aberrometer, the Complete Ophthalmic Analysis System (COAS), for its accuracy, repeatability, and instrument myopia for measuring sphere and astigmatism and its repeatability for measuring higher-order aberrations.

Aberrations of 56 normal eyes (28 subjects) were measured with and without cycloplegia using a COAS, a conventional autorefractor and by subjective refraction. We evaluated lower-order accuracy (sphere and astigmatism) of the COAS and autorefractor by comparing that data with that of subjective refraction. We also tested COAS lower- and higher-order repeatability for 5 measurements taken in less than 1 minute. We evaluated instrument myopia by comparing cycloplegic and noncycloplegic measurements of the same eye. Data were analyzed for a 5.0-mm-diameter pupil.

Mean COAS spherical error was between -0.1 and +0.4 diopters (D), depending on cycloplegia and the kind of sphere power computation selected. Cylinder power errors were less than 0.1 D. COAS repeatability coefficients were better than 0.25 D, and instrument myopia was less than 0.4 D. These were comparable with those of autorefraction. Higher-order repeatability was sufficient to allow reliable measurement of normal third-order aberrations and spherical aberration.

Accuracy, repeatability, and instrument myopia of the COAS are similar to those of a conventional autorefractor. Accuracy and repeatability are also similar to those of subjective refraction. Like an autorefractor, the COAS provides instantaneous, objective measurements of sphere and astigmatism, but it also measures higher-order aberrations. We found that it is capable of reliably measuring problematic higher-order aberrations and is therefore a valuable asset for modern clinical eye care.