Statistical generation of normal and post-refractive surgery wavefronts

Background: Wavefront sensors provide detailed information regarding the aberration structure of large populations of patients. Knowledge of the statistical distribution of the aberrations has several applications, including the development of ophthalmic devices. The statistical distribution aids in defining the required performance range of the device. Another application would be customised schematic eye models that incorporate likely patterns of aberrations found in a given subject population. These models can then be used to find the statistical distribution of image quality metrics based on metrics such as MTF and retinal spot size. Methods: Myopic and post-refractive surgical patient populations were analysed to determine the statistical properties of their ocular aberrations. A matrix method is developed that can be used to generate aberration coefficients that are consistent with each population. Results: Generated wavefronts have statistical properties similar to the respective populations and incorporate the correlations between aberration coefficients. Conclusion: The matrix techniques illustrated here can be used to generate wavefronts that are consistent with various populations of interest to the ophthalmic community. Generation of wavefronts enables techniques such as Monte Carlo simulations to be performed that aid in the development of ophthalmic instrumentation and visual performance metrics.