System design considerations to improve isoplanatism for adaptive optics retinal imaging

Abstract

Adaptive optics (AO) retinal images are limited by anisoplanatism; wavefront shape varies across the field of view such that only a limited area can achieve diffraction-limited image quality at one time. We explored three alternative AO modalities designed to reduce this effect, drawn from work in astronomy. Optical design analysis and computer modeling was undertaken to predict the benefit of each modality for various schematic eyes and various complexities of the imaging system. Off-axis performance was found to be limited by system parameters and not by the eye itself, due to the inherent off-axis characteristics of the eye's gradient index lens. This rendered the alternative AO modalitie..