Analyses on the distribution and influence of higher-order aberrations both clinically and experimentally among varied refractive errors.

Purpose: The aim of this work is to determine and compare the distribution and influence of higher-order aberrations (HOAs) both clinically and experimentally between different refractive errors.

Methods: Commercially available Shack-Hartmann aberrometer was employed to measure the HOA clinically in human eyes. Experimentally, HOA was measured in a model eye by simulating various refractive errors by constructing an aberrometer based on the same Shack Hartmann principle. One-way analyses of variance and simple regression were employed to analyze the distribution and influence of HOA among various refractive errors.

Results: A total of 100 eyes were clinically measured for aberrations, of which 35, 50, and 15 eyes were emmetropes, myopes, and hyperopes, respectively. Out of the total root mean square (RMS) value, the HOAs found in the human eyes were 23%, 7%, and 26% and in the model eye, it was 20%, 8%, and 10% between emmetropes, myopes, and hyperopes, respectively. The mean higher-order RMS was almost similar between the groups and among various refractive errors. There was no statistical significance between the individual Zernikes except for the coma in both human and model eyes.

Conclusion: The mean HOA is similar amidst the different refractive errors. The presence of 23% HOA in emmetropes signifies that larger part of the human eye is capable of complying with HOA without compromising the image quality. This work signifies that HOA does not play an important role in image clarity for human eyes with regular refractive surface unlike irregular refractive surfaces.