Impacts of the gradient-index crystalline lens structure on its peripheral optical power profile

Abstract The crystalline lens makes an important contribution to the peripheral refraction of the human eye, which may affect the development and progression of myopia. However, little has been known about the peripheral optical features of the crystalline lens and its impacts on the peripheral ocular refraction. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the structural parameters of the crystalline lens and its peripheral power profile over a wide visual field. The peripheral power profile is defined with respect to the entrance and exit pupil centers along the chief rays. Analysis is performed by three-dimensional ray tracing through the gradient refractive index (GRIN) lens models built from measurement data. It has been found that the vergence of the wavefronts at the entrance and the exit pupil centers of the lens show an approximate linear correlation to each other for each field angle. The exponent parameters of the axial refractive index profile and the axial curvature profile, and the asphericity of the posterior lens surface are found to be the most influential parameters in the peripheral power profiles. The study also shows that there can be significantly different, sometimes unrealistic, power profiles in the homogeneous lens model compared with its corresponding GRIN model with the same external geometry. The theoretical findings on the peripheral lens properties provide a new perspective for both wide-field eye modelling and the design of intraocular lenses to achieve normal peripheral vision.