Optical quality of rotationally symmetrical contact lenses derived from their power profiles.

PURPOSE: To present a methodology for evaluating the optical quality of rotationally symmetrical contact lenses (CLs) from a single power profile.

METHODS: Simulated rotationally symmetrical power profiles corresponding to different CLs designs (monofocal, two-zone center-near bifocal, and four-zone center-distance bifocal) were used to calculate the wavefront error profile by means of numerical integration. Then, each lens wavefront error profile was spun around the center to obtain the lens wavefront error surface. From the surface, monochromatic optical transfer functions (OTF), simulated images and the visual Strehl ratio based on the OTF (VSOTF) were obtained for different distances and pupil sizes (3 and 5.5mm) after performing a through-focus.

RESULTS: VSOTF variations, taking into account both vergence and pupil size, were presented for the three CLs designs. The monofocal design showed excellent optical quality only for far vision, whereas the bifocal designs exhibited good optical quality for far and near vision. Modulation transfer function (MTF) from each lens design, pupil size, and work distance agreed with the previous results.

CONCLUSIONS: The methodology presented here allows for a rapid and thorough assessment of the optical quality of rotationally symmetrical CLs by means of optical quality metrics, with a special interest in simultaneous image contact lenses. This methodology may be useful for choosing the most suitable lens for each subject's visual demands.