Hopkins procedure for tunable magnification: surgical spectacles

We analyze the use of two varifocal lenses, with fixed interlens separation, for achieving tunable magnification at a specific throw. Our discussion extends the Hopkins procedure circumscribed to the determination of fixed optical powers in a multilens system. We illustrate our results by presenting the Gaussian optics design of surgical spectacles, which have tunable magnification while generating virtual images with zero throw. We also report novel formulas describing this type of two-lens zoom system, which works without any mechanical compensation.