Optical Biometry and Spherical Aberration in Ametropic and Emmetropic Eyes

Aberrations play a significant role in the visual process and can be divided in lower-order and higher-order aberrations. The former can be measured using the commercially available IOL Master (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Germany) and have profound influence on visual acuity. Higher-order aberrations do not significantly influence visual acuity but affect the quality of vision and can cause halos, double vision, and night vision disturbances.

Background Cataract surgery has become a routine procedure in the developed countries. During this surgery, a foldable intraocular lens is usually inserted into the capsular bag. However, these lenses do not account for individual optical biometry data or aberrations. Therefore, it is important to provide data for ametropic and emmetropic eyes as this information might improve future intraocular lens design and lead to individually adapted lenses for yielding optimal visual acuity and quality results.

The aim of the present study is to clarify the correlation between refractive errors/axial eye length and spherical aberrations of the cornea.