Astigmatism and Pseudoaccommodation in Pseudophakic Eyes

noAdvanced IOLs with circumferential zones of different power provide pseudoaccommodation. We investigated the potential for power variation with meridian, namely astigmatism, to provide pseudo-accommodation. With appropriate power and axis orientations, acceptable pseudo-accommodation can be achieved

Robust eye tracking based on multiple corneal reflections for clinical applications

Postprint (published version

Virtual viewpoint three-dimensional panorama

Conventional panoramic images are known to provide for an enhanced field of view in which the scene always has a fixed appearance. The idea presented in this paper focuses on the use of the concept of virtual viewpoint creation to generate different panoramic images of the same scene with three-dimensional component. Three-dimensional effect in a resultant panorama is realized by superimposing a stereo-pair of panoramic images

On the use of asymmetric PSF on NIR images of crowded stellar fields

We present data collected using the camera PISCES coupled with the Firt Light Adaptive Optics (FLAO) mounted at the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). The images were collected using two natural guide stars with an apparent magnitude of R<13 mag. During these observations the seeing was on average ~0.9". The AO performed very well: the images display a mean FWHM of 0.05 arcsec and of 0.06 arcsec in the J- and in the Ks-band, respectively. The Strehl ratio on the quoted images reaches 13-30% (J) and 50-65% (Ks), in the off and in the central pointings respectively. On the basis of this sample we have reached a J-band limiting magnitude of ~22.5 mag and the deepest Ks-band limiting magnitude ever obtained in a crowded stellar field: Ks~23 mag. J-band images display a complex change in the shape of the PSF when moving at larger radial distances from the natural guide star. In particular, the stellar images become more elongated in approaching the corners of the J-band images whereas the Ks-band images are more uniform. We discuss in detail the strategy used to perform accurate and deep photometry in these very challenging images. In particular we will focus our attention on the use of an updated version of ROMAFOT based on asymmetric and analytical Point Spread Functions. The quality of the photometry allowed us to properly identify a feature that clearly shows up in NIR bands: the main sequence knee (MSK). The MSK is independent of the evolutionary age, therefore the difference in magnitude with the canonical clock to constrain the cluster age, the main sequence turn off (MSTO), provides an estimate of the absolute age of the cluster. The key advantage of this new approach is that the error decreases by a factor of two when compared with the classical one. Combining ground-based Ks with space F606W photometry, we estimate the absolute age of M15 to be 13.70+-0.80 Gyr.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, presented at the SPIE conference 201

Multimodal eye\u27s optical quality (MEOQ)

This document summarizes the work done during the implementation of the Multimodal Eye\u27s Optical Quality (MEOQ) system, a measurement device that integrates a double-pass (DP) instrument and a Hartmann-Shack (HS) sensor. The system has been used to quantify scattering in the human eye. Moreover, the configurable properties of the system have been used to explore a method for reducing speckle in systems that rely on reflections of light in the ocular fundus

Delay Compensation for Real Time Disturbance Estimation at Extremely Large Telescopes

In ground-based astronomy, aberrations due to structural vibrations, such as piston, limit the achievable resolution and cannot be corrected using adaptive optics (AO) for large telescopes. We present a model-free strategy to estimate and compensate piston aberrations due to the vibrations of optical components using accelerometer disturbance feed forward, eventually allowing the use of fainter guide stars both for the fringe detector and in the AO loop. Because the correction performance is very sensitive to signal delays, we present a strategy to add a delay compensation to the developed disturbance estimator, which can, in principle, be applied to many other applications outside of astronomy that lack observer performance due to a measurement delay or need a prediction to compensate for input delays. The ability to estimate vibration disturbances in the critical frequency range of 8-60 Hz is demonstrated with on sky data from the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) Interferometer, an interferometer at the LBT. The experimental results are promising, indicating the ability to suppress differential piston induced by telescope vibrations by a factor of about 3 (rms), which is significantly better than any currently commissioned system

Development of new methodologies for the clinical, objective and automated evaluation of visual function based on the analysis of ocular movements : application in visual health

Healthy visual function not only relies on good visual acuity. Other systems such as accommodation or binocular vision need to be effective. Binocular vision is the ability of the visual system to coordinate and integrate the information received separately from the two eyes into a single binocular percept. Anomalies in the binocular vision system lead to dysfunctions which are often associated with symptoms like asthenopia, diplopia, or ocular strain. The most prevalent non-strabismic binocular dysfunction is convergence insufficiency. The tests typically used to evaluate binocular vision and diagnose binocular dysfunctions essentially consist in eliciting eye movements and asking the patients to report when they perceive diplopia or single vision. In a conventional optometric clinical setting, they are generally run subjectively, as their results depend on the answers of the patients or on the examiner’s criteria. However, there exist instruments to determine the gaze position and measure ocular movements objectively, i.e. eye-trackers. These instruments are used as research tools in a wide range of applications (neuroscience, psychology, marketing, computer science, ophthalmology, etc.). Eye tracking systems are seldom used in optometric clinical practice, although it seems reasonable to think that the evaluation of binocular vision could better rely on eye tracking systems rather than subjective observations. In this context, the main objective of this thesis is to develop new methodologies for the clinical, objective and automated evaluation of visual function based on the analysis of ocular movements. This thesis is divided in 4 studies. In the first study, new methods for an eye tracking system based on multiple corneal reflections are proposed. The other 3 studies aim to analyze ocular movements in clinically interesting situations for the objective and automated evaluation of binocular vision. The results of the first study showed that the light sources configurations that produced the reflections in the lower region of the cornea showed higher accuracy. Vertical accuracy was slightly better with a higher number of corneal reflections. However, the proposed normalization methods improved vertical accuracy and counteracted the tendency for increasing accuracy with the number of glints. As a result, if the light sources are optimally positioned to avoid the interference of the eyelids and the normalization methods are applied, there is no need for more than two light sources. In the second study, an automated and objective method to measure phoria was proposed. It was significantly more repeatable than two other conventional clinical methods. However, the phoria results of the three tests were not interchangeable. This study brings to light several advantages of using eye-trackers in optometric clinical settings. The third study analyzes the characteristics of saccadic movements that occur during the near point of convergence test. The results showed that saccadic amplitude increased and rate decrease at closer viewing distances. These changes might be explained by the more rapid change of vergence demand and the greater angular size of the fixation target at near than at far. In general, saccades contributed to correct vergence errors and fixation position errors of the dominant eye. Finally, the fourth study focuses on the effects of the stimulus’ predictability on the latency and response time of vergence step movements. The results confirmed that vergence movements to predictable stimulus had shorter latency and response time than when the stimulus was random. Latency of convergence and divergence movements was influenced by the direction of the phoria. Other factors such as attention or voluntary effort might also affect vergence responses. All these effects might influence the final result of the vergence facility test, although further research is needed to specify the impact on the clinical test.Una bona funció visual no és sinònim exclusivament de bona agudesa visual. Cal que altres sistemes com l’acomodatiu o la visió binocular siguin eficaços. La visió binocular és la capacitat del sistema visual per coordinar i integrar la informació que reben els dos ulls en una única percepció. Anomalies en el sistema de visió binocular poden donar lloc a disfuncions associades a símptomes com astenopia, o visió doble. La disfunció no estràbica de la visió binocular més prevalent és la insuficiència de convergència. Els tests que normalment es fan per avaluar la visió binocular es basen en estimular moviments oculars i demanar als pacients que indiquin quan veuen doble i quan fusionen. A la pràctica clínica convencional, aquests tests solen ser subjectius. No obstant, hi ha instruments que serveixen per determinar objectivament la posició de mirada i mesurar els moviments oculars: els eye-trackers o instruments de seguiment de mirada. Aquests instruments s’utilitzen en recerca en moltes disciplines (neurociència, psicologia, marketing, oftalmologia, etc.). Tot i que una aplicació directa dels eye-trackers podria ser en l’avaluació de la visió binocular, els sistemes de seguiment de mirada gairebé no s’utilitzen en la pràctica clínica optomètrica. En aquest context, l’objectiu principal d’aquesta tesi és desenvolupar noves metodologies per a l’avaluació clínica, objectiva i automatitzada de la funció visual basades en l’anàlisi dels moviments oculars. La tesi està estructurada en 4 estudis. En el primer, es proposen nous mètodes per a un eye-tracker basat en múltiples reflexos corneals. Els altres 3 estudis tenen com a objectiu analitzar els moviments oculars en situacions d’interès clínic per avaluar objectiva i automàticament la visió binocular. Els resultats del primer estudi demostren que les configuracions d’il·luminació dels eye-trackers que formen les reflexions corneals a la zona inferior de la còrnia són més precises. La precisió vertical és lleugerament millor amb més fonts de llum. Tot i això, els mètodes de normalització proposats milloren considerablement la precisió vertical i contraresten la tendència de més precisió amb més fonts de llum. D’aquesta manera, si les fonts de llum no interfereixen amb les parpelles i s’apliquen els mètodes de normalització, no cal que els eye-trackers tinguin més de dues fonts de llum. En el segon estudi s’ha proposat un mètode automàtic i objectiu per mesurar la fòria. Aquest mètode és significativament més repetitiu que dos altres mètodes clínics. Tot i això, els resultats amb els tres mètodes no són intercanviables. Aquest estudi posa de manifest avantatges que podrien tenir els eye-trackers a la pràctica clínica optomètrica. En el tercer estudi s’analitzen les característiques dels moviments sacàdics que es produeixen durant la prova del punt proper de convergència. Els resultats demostren que l’amplitud dels sacàdics augmenta i la freqüència disminueix a mesura que s’escurça la distància. Aquests canvis poden ser deguts a que la demanda de vergència canvia més ràpid a distàncies properes que llunyanes, i a l’increment de la mida angular de l’objecte de fixació. En general, els sacàdics contribueixen a corregir els errors de vergència i els errors de fixació de l’ull dominant. Finalment, el quart estudi se centra en els efectes de la predictibilitat de l’estímul en la latència i temps de resposta dels salts de vergència. Els resultats confirmen que els moviments de vergència tenen una latència i temps de resposta més curts quan l’estímul es predictible que quan és aleatori. La latència dels moviments de convergència i divergència està influenciada per la direcció de la fòria. Altres factors com el grau d’atenció o d’esforç voluntari pot ser que afectin els moviments de vergència. Tots aquests efectes probablement influencien en el resultat final de la prova de la instal·lació de vergència, encara que es necessiten més investigacions per especificar l'impacte en la prova clínica