What is wavefront?

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Wavefront treatment has received a lot of publicity. Not all Wavefront systems are as good as each other (see Technology Primer).

Wavefront sensors measure the unique optical imperfections of your eye, called ‘higher order aberrations’. These irregularities of your optical system affect the finer quality aspects of your vision, beyond what glasses are able to correct.

A wavefront aberrometer records the optical quality from several positions over the pupil opening. This produces a map of the imperfections of your eye’s optics. This information can be fed into the laser to achieve better results. The laser must be able to receive these measurements and then apply them directly onto the cornea.

Different analysers measure different numbers of spots, ranging from as low as 60 to as high as 650. A low-resolution analyser is like a watercolour painting. It provides a general impression of the landscape. It measures just a few points and then uses a mathematical formula to work out an approximate image of the rest. A high-resolution analyser will give as sharp a picture as a photograph. It records much more data, giving a more accurate map of the number and location of imperfections. This means the information is more accurate and therefore more likely to improve the outcome.