All About Wavefront Technology

By Author: Sara Roberts
Total Articles: 4717
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In the past an eye examination involved sitting in an examination chair and looking through a device that would scare most children, then declaring "better" or "worse" until the Optometrist was satisfied. This method is acceptable in most circumstances, but due to the subjective nature of the exam, the prescription can be inaccurate. This type of exam isn't able to detect other conditions that may exist either.

Advances in the field of eye surgery has brought a new method of examination to the table though, Wavefront. With Wavefront all the "better" and "worse" is taken out, and this technology can diagnose a wider range of conditions. The best part of this is that now this technology can be applied to eyeglasses as well as eye surgery.

In a popular type of wavefront exam a light is reflected off of the back of your eye (the retina) and a map is made from the way that the light travels in your eye. This exam is simple, requires no subjective input, and is almost instantaneous. More accuracy is assured with this method, and more conditions can be corrected from this map.

As pointed out before, this technology ...
... can be applied to eyeglass lenses, here's how. In optical laser surgery, such as Lasik, a wavefront map is used to guide and optimize the laser that creates a custom eye surface (cornea) to achieve the best focus possible. Now manufacturers are using this same precision to correct common issues like nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism along with the higher-order conditions.

Wavefront type lenses are advertised to be the way to achieve a crisper, clearer view as compared to the conventional type lenses, but will probably not be covered by an insurance policy. The cost of these lenses is generally 25%- 35% more expensive than the conventional lenses, depending on the lenses you select.

With the added benefits of wavefront mapping, lens companies have started using digital correction on both sides of the lenses. This type of correction allows for a finer precision in manufacture process resulting in a lens more suited to the wearer. Additional benefits of wavefront technologies are being developed. The DOD granted $3.5 million dollars to PixelOptics Inc. for the development of an adaptive lens system that is referred to as SuperVision lenses.

In light of these advances, many companies have started to delve into this technology and are now producing wavefront inspired lenses. One company, iZon, produces highly regarded and specialized lenses requiring a specialized machine that creates an optical fingerprint for each eye.

Other companies using this technologies without requiring the wavefront analysis are: Varilux (Essilor of America,) Carl Zeiss Vision, Shamir Insight, Hoya Lens of America, Seiko/Pentax, and Signet/Armorlite.
About Author:
Sara Roberts writes for Just Eyewear, a website that sells prescription eyeglasses online. Visit their site to read more articles by Sara on everything related to glasses online.