Peripheral Detection Acuity for Interference Fringes and Screen-based Gabor Gratings

This study compared on-axis and peripheral detection acuities measured with interference fringes, that bypass eye optics, and with screen-based Gabor gratings combined with an adaptive optics system. Gabor gratings are sinusoidal gratings incorporated with a Gaussian envelope that attenuate spatial frequency broadening that occur at the window edge. The magnitude of the attenuation was varied. Peripheral detection acuities were always higher for interference fringes than for Gabor gratings. Less attenuated Gabors (with sharper edges) had higher acuities than more attenuated Gabors (with less sharp edges). Theoretical investigations indicated that the spatial frequency broadening occurring due to the sharp edge of the less attenuated Gabors contribute little to high detection grating acuity in the periphery, but that the lower attenuation provides a greater number of visible cycles which is of more benefit to detection than is the case on-axis.