INTERACTIVE REFRACTOR INCORPORATING WAVEFRONT SENSING AND ADAPTIVE OPTICS

• US 20060203196A1
• Filed: 06/01/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Novartis Ag
• Original Assignee: Novartis Ag
• Inventors: Van Heugten, Anthony Y.
• Application Number:
  US11/421,525
• Publication Number:
  US 20060203196A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 351/221
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/103 for determining refraction, e.g. refractometers, skiascopes

Abstract

An integrated wavefront sensor and adaptive optic system includes an electroactive lens (40) positioned such that light from real world objects (42) being observed by a patient is combined, by a combiner optic (44), with a wavefront sensor illumination beam (12) into a single beam of light (46) that passes through or onto the electroactive lens (40). With this integrated system, the patient'"'"'s vision may be measured and corrected, taking into account changes in the higher order aberrations that are influenced by the patient'"'"'s accommodation, simultaneous to the patient observing, in real time, the refractive correction being proposed.

Claims

1. An apparatus for measuring refraction of an eye, comprising:

a wavefront sensor for producing an illumination beam at least as large as an area of the eye being measured;

an electroactive lens operatively coupled with the wavefront sensor, such that both the illumination beam produced by the wavefront sensor, and real world light entering the eye, are refracted by the electroactive lens;

wherein the wavefront sensor makes adjustments to the electroactive lens, which are observable by the eye, to measure higher order aberrations in the eye.

2. An apparatus for measuring refraction of an eye, comprising:

a wavefront sensor for producing an illumination beam at least as large as an area of the eye being measured;

an electroactive optic operatively coupled with the wavefront sensor, such that both the illumination beam produced by the wavefront sensor, and real world light entering the eye, are reflected by the electroactive optic;

wherein the wavefront sensor makes adjustments to the electroactive optic, which are observable by the eye, to measure higher order aberrations in the eye.

3. An apparatus for measuring refraction of an eye, comprising:

a wavefront sensor for producing an illumination beam at least as large as an area of the eye being measured;

a first electroactive lens operatively coupled with the wavefront sensor for modifying the illumination beam produced by the wavefront sensor;

a second electroactive lens operatively coupled with the wavefront sensor for modifying a wavefront of light entering the eye to form real world images;

an aperture-sharing element operatively coupled with the first and second electroactive lenses for combining the wavefront of light entering the eye to form real world images into a common path with the modified illumination beam before they enter the eye;

wherein the wavefront sensor makes and coordinates corrections to the first and second electroactive lenses, with the corrections observable by the eye during the refractive procedure, such that a change in higher order aberrations of the eye can be measured and adjusted for.

4. An apparatus for measuring refraction of an eye, comprising:

a wavefront sensor for producing an illumination beam at least as large as an area of the eye being measured;

an electroactive lens operatively coupled with the wavefront sensor for modifying the illumination beam produced by the wavefront sensor, and for modifying a wavefront of light entering the eye to form real world images;

an aperture-sharing element operatively coupled with the electroactive lens for combining the wavefront of light entering the eye to form real world images into a common path with the modified illumination beam before they enter the eye;

wherein the wavefront sensor makes corrections to the electroactive lens, with the corrections observable by the eye during the refractive procedure, such that a change in higher order aberrations of the eye can be measured and adjusted for.

5. A method for measuring the refraction of an eye, comprising the steps of:

producing, via a wavefront sensor, an illumination beam at least as large as an area of the eye being measured;

refracting the illumination beam and real world light entering the eye with an electroactive lens;

measuring a correction to the electroactive lens via the wavefront sensor; and

adjusting, based on the measured correction, the electroactive lens to account for higher order aberrations in the eye.