Effect of pupil size on residual wavefront aberration with transition zone after customized laser refractive surgery

The analysis of the change in residual wavefront aberrations after laser refractive surgery is important for the development of visual correction technology. Based on the ablation profile for wavefront-guided refractive surgery including optical zone and transition zone, the effect of pupil size on residual wavefront aberrations was studied. The research revealed that the optical zone to pupil ratio had a significant influence on the residual wavefront aberrations. The residual spherical aberration and coma were obviously larger than other individual Zernike higher-order terms when pupil diameter was larger than the optical zone size, and they increased rapidly as the pupil size increased. In addition, when the ablation zone diameter was kept constant, the residual higher-order aberrations increased rapidly as the blend coefficient increased for a 6 mm or 7 mm pupil. Furthermore, the residual higher-order aberrations with treatment decentration were distinctly larger than those without decentration. In the achievement of the best postoperative visual performance, the design of ablation profile played a crucial role in decrease of the residual wavefront aberrations after refractive surgery, especially optical zone size and the ablation pattern of transition zone.