Wavefront CustomVue

Spherical Errors

In the past, laser vision correction has only been able to treat nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.  These are considered "simple" refractive errors.  Nearsightedness and farsightedness are basic "spherical" errors.  They are symmetrical "bowl" shaped distortions that can be corrected for using simple glasses using symmetical lenses.  However, there are many other "complex" aberrations or distortions that exist within the optical system of the eye.


Astigmatism



These distortions occur naturally in all eyes in varying degrees. Most eyes have some regular astigmatism.  Regular astigmatism is a symmetrical aberration that is caused by distortions that are also "bowl" shaped but the bowl is elongated in one meridian like a spoon.


Complex AberrationsMany people have degraded vision due to complex aberrations.  These aberrations include trefoil, coma, tetrafoil and spherical aberration.  These aberrations are generally not symmetrical and cannot generally be corrected for using standard glasses.  Even in small amounts these aberrations can cause visually significant degradation in overall clarity of best-corrected vision. 
 

The FDA has approved wavefront-guided LASIK, which automatically incorporates the correction of these complex distortions into the traditional LASIK procedure. This highly customized treatment is based on a wavefront analysis of the eye, which is essentially a "fingerprint" of that individual eye's optical system. This detailed information is used to help guide the laser.


 


 

The Result

A customized cornea whose optical system has an unparalleled reduction in distortions. This dramatic improvement can mean the difference between just barely reading the small row of letters on the eye chart and reading it without effort. Many patients have reported an improvement in night vision.

 

How does Wavefront work?

Ideally in a perfect eye, all light would come to an exact point of focus on the back of the eye at the retina and bounce straight back out in a perfectly flat plane. In reality, all eyes have some degree of simple and complex imperfections.
Click the pictures to see animations of wavefront and laser treatment simulation.

Wavefront measures light that is reflected from the back of your eye out into a wavefront analyzer. This WaveScan system separates the broad light into individual points of light that can be measured on a microscopic level. Each of these measured points of light results in a mathematical formula for the "error" at that exact point at the corneal plane. This data guides the ablation (reshaping) of your cornea by the laser.

 

Published Wavefront Results

  • 6 months after treatment
  • Before and After Night Vision Improvement as Reported by the Patient
  • 100% of  eyes see 20/40 or better
  • 94% of eyes see 20/20 or better
  • 30% of eyes see better without correction after treatment than they did with glasses before treatment

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Patients reported subjective improvement in all categories of quality of vision:

  • sharpness
  • visual comfort (improved 16.5%)
  • consistency of vision
  • daytime vision
  • night vision (improved 20.2%)
  • night vision glare (improved 21.1%)

 

Over 20% of patients who were dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their night vision before treatment were no longer dissatisfied with their night vision after treatment.