Psychophysical Measurement of the Blur on the Retina Due to Optical Aberrations of the Eye

The blur on the retina in the horizontal meridian due to monochromatic and chromatic aberrations has been measured using a novel psychophysical technique. Longitudinal chromatic aberration gives the dominant blur for pupil sizes of 4-5 mm, followed by monochromatic aberrations, and blur due to optical transverse chromatic aberration. In some eyes, coma was present as a result of a displacement of the axis of symmetry from the centre of the pupil, but in three eyes, coma was present without spherical aberration. The technique also allows a measurement of the effective pupil centre relative to the geometric centre and a partial analysis of the relative positions of the reference axes of the eye.