Nested shell optical model of the lens of the human eye

A nested shell model of the human lens is developed based on the known anatomical construction of the lens, on the known way in which the lens grows throughout its life, on the measured characteristics of the lens surfaces as a function of the age of the lens, on the measured changes in the shape of the lens during accommodation, and on measured material characteristics of the lens materials, such as density and index of refraction throughout. The observed changes in central surface curvature and thickness force the shell thicknesses to vary in a predictable way and in turn force the shell surface asphericity to take certain values. Thus, in addition to giving the shape of each shell, the model predicts the change expected in the asphericity of the lens surfaces as the lens ages and adds cortical cell layers. Two examples are given, one for a 25-year-old lens and one for a 40-year-old lens, to show how the cortical layers change their shapes throughout the cortex and over time as the lens ages. The performance of the model of this paper is compared to that of two other nested shell models, one where the layers have constant thickness and one where the lens posterior is fixed within the eye over time, to show the superior performance of this model with respect to maintaining a constant refractive error for the eye as the lens ages and grows.