IRWAVE · Imaging Refractor: Wide Angle Vision Evaluation

Imaging Refractor: Wide Angle Vision Evaluation

Our visual system offers both high spatial resolution using the fovea and high temporal and high sensitivity using the periphery. Our ability to perform highly complex tasks, such as face recognition or reading, depends mainly in the quality of our foveal (central) vision. Peripheral vision, however, is important for noticing stimuli and moving the eye towards them if more detailed vision is needed, for orientation and for the detection of movement and, generally, for the awareness of our surroundings. While a decrease of image quality in central vision is immediately noticed, a reduced image quality in the periphery can generally go unnoticed. It has been shown that increased refractive error in the periphery of the visual field can lead to a significant decrease in the detection of a stimulus. This functional limitation of vision can have significant implications in safety and efficiency in daily tasks e.g. while walking (detections of an obstacle such as a stairstep) or driving (awareness of other vehicles and surroundings). Peripheral refraction is also thought to play an important role in the emmetropization process and is a candidate for the mechanism causing myopia. The main hypothesis is that eye growth depends on peripheral defocus: it is believed an emmetropic eye with a hypermetropic periphery will lead to a continuous eye growth, even when foveal vision becomes myopic. Until now, there has not been conclusive evidence to fully establish the relationship between peripheral defocus and astigmatism with myopia. The proposed project concerns the design, construction and testing of an optical instrument and a corresponding method for the in-vivo, quick and accurate measurement of the central and peripheral refraction of the human eye. The instrument will have the potential to become a very valuable tool in ophthalmology, and specifically in the study of children myopia.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union