A 3D simulation of the optical properties of the human eye using in vivo anatomical data of the cornea

Rodrigo Silva Duran and Luis Alberto Vieira de Carvalho and Luis Gustavo Nonato and Odemir Martinez Bruno

Congresso Brasileiro de Computação, 578-582,2004

The cornea alone contributes to approximately 75% of the total refraction of the eye. Nevertheless, there is very few knowledge of its contribution to the optical aberrations of the images formed at the retina. Most corneal diagnostic equipments (Corneal Topographers and Keratometers) measure only its dioptric power (proportional to curvature) and shape, but do not calculate or estimate the corneal contribution to the quality of image formation at the retina. On the other hand, auto-refractors and wave-front devices measure the optical aberrations of the eye as a single optical “device”, and therefore do not indicate individual contributions. We have developed algorithms that read elevation data from a commercial corneal topographer and use this data to construct a 3D model of the eye using sophisticated computer graphics techniques. A ray-tracing procedure using this 3D model allows us to estimate the image quality formed at the retina.