Multiple zone multifocal phase designs.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Optical Engineering
• Vision Science

Background:

• Presbyopia, an age-related condition, reduces the eye's ability to focus on near objects.
• Current multifocal solutions offer limited depth of focus and can cause visual side effects.
• Advanced optical designs are needed to restore functional near and distance vision in presbyopic patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce novel multifocal phase designs for expanding the depth of focus in the human eye.
• To evaluate and compare the performance of different multifocal designs based on zone configuration and aberration profiles.
• To explore the potential of these designs for vision correction in presbyopia.

Main Methods:

• Designs incorporated multiple radial or angular zones with varying optical powers or combined aberrations.
• Multifocal performance was quantified by the dioptric range of acceptable optical quality and the area under through-focus curves.
• Evaluated designs included varying optical power zones and combinations of low- and high-order aberrations.

Main Results:

• Optimal performance for varying optical power designs was achieved with three to four zones; more zones degraded performance.
• Angular zone designs demonstrated superior multifocal performance (1.95x on average) compared to radial designs.
• The best angular design (three zones) outperformed bifocal designs by 33% and standard multifocal plates by 32%.

Conclusions:

• Multifocal phase designs utilizing angular zones and optimized aberration combinations significantly enhance through-focus performance.
• These advanced designs offer a promising approach for improving uncorrected vision in presbyopic individuals.
• The designs are adaptable for applications in adaptive optics, contact lenses, intraocular lenses, and corneal laser ablation.