Abstract: In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for designing one or more surfaces of an ophthalmic lens includes representing the surfaces with parameters, choosing a function in the parameters and optimizing the function. The function may include one or more of the following terms: a term involving the magnification induced by the ophthalmic lens and a predetermined magnification distribution, a term involving the distortion induced by the ophthalmic lens and a predetermined distortion distribution, and a term involving the torsion induced by the ophthalmic lens and a predetermined torsion distribution. The function may also involve a term related to the thickness of the ophthalmic lens. The function may also involve one or more weight distributions. The method may include determining the weight distributions from a database of weight functions using a predetermined rule or an expert system.

Abstract: In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for designing one or more surfaces of an ophthalmic optical element for an eye suffering at least from higher order aberrations includes computing an eye model and optimizing a merit function. The eye model may be computed from data on defocus of the eye, astigmatism of the eye and the higher order aberrations. The merit function may be defined in terms of the eye model and in terms of parameters of a representation of the surfaces. The optimization of the merit function yields a set of optimized parameters which can be used to obtain a description of the surfaces. The ophthalmic optical element may be a lens for spectacles, a contact lens, an intraocular lens or a multifocal lens for spectacles. The method may also be used to design the topography of corneal tissue.

Abstract: A method for determining or designing the topography of at least one unknown surface of an optical element includes the steps of measuring or prescribing geometrical properties, determining a set of integration equations from the geometrical properties, and determining the topography of the at least one unknown surface from the set of equations. The set of integration equations is determined also from the optical index or indexes of the optical element. The geometrical properties measured or prescribed are the geometric properties of a plurality of rays incident upon the optical element and of a corresponding plurality of rays affected by at least the at least one unknown surface.

Abstract: A method for designing a surface of an optical element includes the steps of prescribing initial wavefronts, selecting an initial parameterized representation of the surface, choosing a cost function in the parameters, and optimizing the cost function with respect to the parameters. The step of optimizing includes the steps of calculating a refracted wavefront for each of the initial wavefronts and analytically computing derivatives of the cost function. The method may also include the steps of precomputing eikonal functions between points in the vicinity of the initial wavefronts. Then the refracted wavefronts are calculated from the precomputed eikonal functions. A method for designing at least one surface of a multifocal optical element includes the step of concurrently considering in a design of the at least one surface any combination of an astigmatism distribution, a progressive power distribution and a prism distribution.

Abstract: In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for designing one or more surfaces of an ophthalmic optical element for an eye suffering at least from higher order aberrations includes computing an eye model and optimizing a merit function. The eye model may be computed from data on defocus of the eye, astigmatism of the eye and the higher order aberrations. The merit function may be defined in terms of the eye model and in terms of parameters of a representation of the surfaces. The optimization of the merit function yields a set of optimized parameters which can be used to obtain a description of the surfaces. The ophthalmic optical element may be a lens for spectacles, a contact lens, an intraocular lens or a multifocal lens for spectacles. The method may also be used to design the topography of corneal tissue.

Abstract: In some embodiments of the present invention, a method for designing one or more surfaces of an ophthalmic lens includes representing the surfaces with parameters, choosing a function in the parameters and optimizing the function. The function may include one or more of the following terms: a term involving the magnification induced by the ophthalmic lens and a predetermined magnification distribution, a term involving the distortion induced by the ophthalmic lens and a predetermined distortion distribution, and a term involving the torsion induced by the ophthalmic lens and a predetermined torsion distribution. The function may also involve a term related to the thickness of the ophthalmic lens. The function may also involve one or more weight distributions. The method may include determining the weight distributions from a database of weight functions using a predetermined rule or an expert system.

Abstract: A method for determining an optical surface includes the steps of receiving data relating to a plurality of rays prior to and after refraction or reflection from the optical surface, determining a set of integration equations from the data, and determining the optical surface from the set of equations.