Amsterdam, April 15, 2015 - In a recent study published in Optics Communications, scientists from Bar-Ilan University in Israel have presented a new technique that significantly reduces the halo effect that is generated when using multifocal (contact and intra-ocular) lenses and looking at bright point sources in dark conditions.
Presbyopia is a result of natural aging and stems from a gradual thickening and decrease in elasticity of the lens inside the eye. Corrective lenses used to address presbyopia often lead to a halo effect. This is basically a glow or color light pattern observed when looking at a bright source of light in front of a dark background. It is mostly experienced at night when people see halos around street lamps and car headlights, and it can make driving at night unsafe or even impossible in extreme cases.
Co-author of the paper, Prof. Zeev Zalevsky, head of the Electro-Optics study program of the Faculty of Engineering at Bar-Ilan, explains, "Our solution involves smoothening the surface structure of a contact lens or an intra-ocular lens that has extended depth of focus or multifocal capabilities. The smoothening does not complicate the fabrication complexity of the lens and yet yields the same optical performance in treating presbyopia and assisting people after cataract surgery, but with about one order of magnitude smaller. This allows people that use such lenses to be able to use them also at night."
More and more commercial ophthalmic products incorporate EDOF (extended depth of focus) and multifocal technologies in contact and intra-ocular lenses to solve presbyopia. Until now, such lenses were very problematic when used in dark illumination conditions. The researchers say their proposed concept can resolve the above difficulties and make the existing products even more applicable and useful.
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Read more: http://www.elsevier.com/connect/keeping-visions-halo-effect-at-arms-length
Article details:
"Ophthalmic halo reduced lenses design" by Ofer Limon and Zeev Zalevsky (doi:10.1016/j.optcom.2014.12.049). The article appears in Optics Communications, Volume 342, 1 May 2015, Pages 253-258 published by Elsevier.
The article is freely available until 31 Dec 2015 and is available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0030401814012139
After this time copies of the paper are available to credentialed journalists upon request, contact Elsevier's Newsroom at newsroom@elsevier.com or +31 20 4853564.
About Optics Communications
Optics Communications invites original and timely contributions containing new results in various fields of optics and photonics. The journal considers theoretical and experimental research in areas ranging from the fundamental properties of light to technological applications. Topics covered include classical and quantum optics, optical physics and light-matter interactions, lasers, imaging, guided-wave optics and optical information processing. http://www.journals.elsevier.com/optics-communications/
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Journal
Optics Communications