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Binocular Dynamic Visual Acuity in Eyeglass-Corrected Myopic Patients
Published on: March 29, 2022
Effects of age on peripheral ocular aberrations
Ankit Mathur1, David A Atchison, W Neil Charman
1School of Optometry and Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. a.mathur@qut.edu.au
Optics Express
|April 15, 2010
Summary
Older eyes show increased peripheral higher-order aberrations, but age-related pupil constriction likely mitigates their impact on vision. This suggests other factors cause visual deficits in older individuals.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Vision Science
- Optical Engineering
Background:
- Monochromatic higher-order aberrations (HOAs) are known to increase with age.
- Limited research exists on peripheral refraction and HOAs in older individuals' eyes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare peripheral wave aberrations between young and older emmetropes.
- To determine the age-related changes in off-axis HOAs within the visual field.
Main Methods:
- Wave aberrations were measured across a 42°x32° visual field for a 5mm pupil in 10 young and 7 older emmetropes.
- Peripheral refraction patterns and specific HOAs like coma and spherical aberration were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Peripheral refraction patterns were similar between age groups.
- Coma increased significantly faster with field angle in older emmetropes.
- Spherical aberration (C40) was higher in older emmetropes across the field.
- Total RMS and HOAs increased more rapidly with field angle in older individuals.
Conclusions:
- Despite increased HOAs with age, their impact on peripheral image quality is limited by age-related pupil size reduction.
- Age-related pupil constriction lessens the significance of increased HOAs in older eyes.
- Increased HOAs are unlikely to be the primary cause of peripheral visual performance deficits in older individuals.
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