Effect of Color on Contrast Sensitivity with Two Different Accommodative Stimuli

We studied the influence of color and accommodation on the contrast sensitivity function (CSF). At the same time, we measured the effect of axial chromatic aberration (ACA) on the CSF. The CSF's of two observers were determined using red, green, blue, and white light, at 5- and 0.5-m viewing distances. At 5 m the CSF's were measured with natural vision and also with lenses which compensated the ACA. Results show that the effect of ACA on the CSF is to reduce the sensitivity to blue with respect to the red. The difference in sensitivity between these two colors is between 50 and 150% and varies with the frequency and the subject. When the ACA is compensated the influence of the color on the …

Optical quality of intraocular lenses after several years in the human eye

The optical quality of explanted intraocular lenses (IOLs) was analysed to verify if their quality is maintained after having been in the human eye for several years. Twenty-five explanted IOLs were studied, 10 because of intraocular luxation and 15 from corneal donors. The dioptric power and modulation transfer function (MTF) were determined to discover the image quality of the IOLs. The spectral transmission was also established to ascertain whether the filter against ultraviolet (UV) radiation was still effective. The results show that the MTF of implanted IOLs is maintained and therefore so is the image quality they provide. Only decay in the MTF of some of the explanted IOLs was observ…

Splitting criterion for hierarchical motion estimation based on perceptual coding

A new entropy-constrained motion estimation scheme using variable-size block matching is proposed. It is known that fixed-size block matching as used in most video codec standards is improved by using a multiresolution or multigrid approach. In this work, it is shown that further improvement is possible in terms of both the final bit rate achieved and the robustness of the predicted motion field if perceptual coding is taken into account in the motion estimation phase. The proposed scheme is compared against other variable- and fixed-size block matching algorithms.

ATD perimetry in glaucoma and ocular hypertensive patients. A preliminar study

Purpose: The new ATD perimetry assesses contrast sentivity thresholds for the three afferent sensory pathways of the visual system. Our aim is to compare contrast sensitivity to stimuli with different spatio-temporal frequencies in glaucomatous (G) and ocular hypertensive (OHT) subjects. Methods: Twenty three G and OHT subjects were selected from the ophthalmic clinic, all subjects signed an informed consent. Inclusion criteria were diagnosis of G or OHT, normal Farnsworth-Munsell color test, ametropia less than 6 D, visual acuity over 20/30, absence of previous ocular surgery and experience in perimetry. Twenty locations and the fovea were evaluated in a 60o x 40o fovea-centered field. Eig…

Influence of the luminance level on visual performance with a disposable soft cosmetic tinted contact lens.

The purpose of the present work was to study the effect on visual performance of wearing disposable soft tinted contact lenses for cosmetic purposes. Parameters such as contrast sensitivity (Vistech 6000), colour vision (Farnsworth-Munsell 100-Hue colour test), visual fields (static Goldmann perimetry) and subjective vision (what the wearer feels while wearing the lenses) were studied under different illumination levels in order to check for possible vision losses while wearing these contact lenses at low illumination levels. Sixteen emmetropic subjects were fitted consecutively with seven pairs of different colour lenses (Optima Colors lenses by BauschLomb), and the experimental parameters…

Influence of the tear film on optical quality of the eye

The optical quality of the tear film of the eye was tested by measuring the retinal image before and after the break-up time (BUT). An objective method was used based on the evaluation of the retinal image of a point test projected onto the fovea. The loss of an entire tear film would result in a decrease in the optical quality because of corneal irregularities and the formation of an irregular tear lens after the BUT. Our results confirm the expected loss both of non-contact lens wearers and contact lens wearers. Also, the fact that the optical deterioration found after the BUT is greater for contact lens wearers confirms that soft contact lens wear produces a disruption of the tears.

Adaptive motion estimation and video vector quantization based on spatiotemporal non-linearities of human perception

The two main tasks of a video coding system are motion estimation and vector quantization of the signal. In this work a new splitting criterion to control the adaptive decomposition for the non-uniform optical flow estimation is exposed. Also, a novel bit allocation procedure is proposed for the quantization of the DCT transform of the video signal. These new approaches are founded on a perception model that reproduce the relative importance given by the human visual system to any location in the spatial frequency, temporal frequency and amplitude domain of the DCT transform. The experiments show that the proposed procedures behave better than their equivalent (fixed-block-size motion estim…

Characterization of the human visual system threshold performance by a weighting function in the Gabor domain

Abstract As evidenced by many physiological and psychophysical reports, the receptive fields of the first-stage set of mechanisms of the visual process fit to two-dimensional (2D) compactly supported harmonic functions. The application of this set of band-pass filter functions to the input signal implies that the visual system carries out some kind of conjoint space/spatial frequency transform. Assuming that a conjoint transform is carried out, we present in this paper a new characterization of the visual system performance by means of a weighting function in the conjoint domain. We have called this weighting function (in the particular case of the Gabor transform) the Gabor stimuli Sensiti…

Contact lenses: do they really change the opticalperformance?

Abstract In this investigation the quality of two types of optical correction, hydrogel contact lenses and ophthalmic lenses, wascompared by measuring the modulation transferfunction (MTF) of the correcting lens plus visual optics system using an objective method. A merit function was defined in order to allow the direct comparison between the optical performance with the two corrections. A study on 10 subjects was undertaken, measuring the MTF of both corrections by using the double pass method. The results show that the optical quality of contact lenses was higher than that with ophthalmic lenses. The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) and visual acuity (VA) were determined as subjective…

Contrast sensitivity of the visual system in speckle imagery

The contrast sensitivity function (CSF) of the whole visual system is determined with the use of coherent diffuse illumination. This function provides supplementary data about the effect of speckle on the ability of the visual system to perceive the spatial information contained in an image. The results show that speckle not only prevents perception of the finest details (highest frequencies) but also reduces the visibility of lower frequencies (especially where contrast is low). The difference between the CSF's determined with and without speckle is quantitatively very important. And the ratio between the two CSF's is a measure of the retinal ability to perceive contrast in the presence of…

Human contrast sensitivity in coherent Maxwellian view: effect of coherent noise and comparison with speckle.

Lasers have been used in vision for measuring the neural contrast sensitivity function (CSF) by forming interference fringes on the retina. We distinguish among three kinds of illumination with lasers: incoherent (without noise), Maxwellian or coherent (with coherent noise), and diffuse coherent (with speckle). The three have different characteristics and different CSF's. A coherent imaging system is designed to measure the CSF with fully coherent illumination. This is the CSF of the whole visual system, although it is measured with gratings imaged on the retina. It therefore differs from the neural CSF's measured by other authors with partially coherent illumination. However, the neural CS…

Brightness induction in a chromatic center?achromatic surround configuration

Evaluation of the performance of multifocal intraocular lenses image quality: analysis of the standard methods

Purpose: To analyze the standard methods used to describe intraocular lenses (IOL) and to suggest some improvements to make them applicable for multifocal IOLs. Methods: The EN-ISO standards and the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for the evaluation of the performance of IOLs are tested for multifocal IOLs. The MTF of the one refractive multifocal IOL and two hybrid refractive-diffractive multifocal IOLs is measured for both distance focus and near focus and using different pupil sizes. Results: The average modulation (AM) from 0 to 100 c/mm of multifocal IOLs (for the distance focus) is about 40-50% lower than the AM of monofocal IOLs, for all pupil sizes stud…

Influence of the gaze-stabilizing eye movements on the quality of the retinal image of the human eye

In this work we have studied the influence of the gaze stabilizing movements of the eye on the quality of the retinal image of the human eye obtained by double pass methods. The results obtained agree with the expected differences between the coherent and incoherent behaviour of the optical system of the eye. The movements-free retinal image is obtained from a typical retinal image by considering a filter function in the frequency domain which characterizes the effect of the considered movements.

Implementations of a novel algorithm for colour constancy

AbstractIn agreement with the principles of the relativistic model proposed by Creutzfeldtet al., with the photometric rule (lightness anchoring rule) and with the influence of simultaneous contrast in the appearance of a visual scene, we propose a first-stage mechanism yielding substantial colour constancy. We have defined a set of first-stage colour descriptors, and to test their utility, we have performed a simulation using a Machine Vision System (MVS). The statistical stability of the descriptors for Munsell samples under different illuminants is good.

Image quality metric based on multidimensional contrast perception models

Abstract The procedure to compute the subjective difference between two input images should be equivalent to a straightforward difference between their perceived versions, hence reliable subjective difference metrics must be founded on a proper perception model. For image distortion evaluation purposes, perception can be considered as a set of signal transforms that successively map the original image in the spatial domain into a feature and a response space. The properties of the spatial pattern analyzers involved in these transforms determine the geometry of these different signal representation domains. In this work the general relations between the sensitivity of the human visual system…

Sequential visual reaction times

The reaction-time to a series of successive digits was measured on two subjects. After practice, it was found that whilst the reaction time to the onset of the series was constant at 150 ms, the response time to additional digits became less and less to asymptote to a level of about 50 ms. The time course of this ‘chorus-line’ phenomenon was studied in greater temporal detail by varying the interval in steps of 20 ms. The effect was greatest at 200 ms. Thereafter, it declined and for long intervals reached the value of a standard reaction time. On a third inexperienced subject, the learning period was established; this was about 300–400 presentations. The implications of these findings are …

Magnification of the retinal image through an intraocular Galilean telescope

The intraocular Galilean telescope is a good solution for incrementing the visual capabilities of patients with age-related macular degeneration. Nevertheless, some problems arise with the use of the intraocular telescopes available at present; these problems are originated by two main factors: the use of the same power values for the lenses in all types of eyes and the fact that the values of the distance between lenses into the eye are not the most suitable ones. As a result, a high residual refraction is produced in many implanted eyes. We propose a method for predicting outcomes in order to select patients for this technique and, moreover, for choosing the optimum power for the positive…

Modulation transfer function in refractive-diffractive multifocal intraocular lenses in vitro

Purpose: The optical quality of two types of multifocal, hybrid refractive-diffractive, intraocular lenses (IOL) is analyzed in vitro. Following the EN-ISO international standard, the IOLs’ modulation transfer functions (MTF) are determined for both distance and near vision. The behaviour of these curves when the pupil size varies is studied. Methods: The IOLs analyzed were: AcrySoft ResTor SN60D3 (Alcon) and Tecnis ZM900 (AMO). The MTF was calculated from the cross line-spread function recorded with the OPAL Vector System (Image Science Ltd. Oxford) by using fast Fourier transform techniques. The artificial eye model used simulates in vivo conditions of the anterior chamber including an ar…

Are Ocular Response Analyzer useful to measure corneal hysteresis in patients with intracorneal rings?

Purpose Corneal hysteresis is a viscoelastic property characterized by the difference in behavior under loading and unloading. The aim of the study was to determine corneal hysteresis in different eyes: healthy eyes, keratoconic eyes and keratoconic eyes after intracorneal ring implants. Methods This study comprised 95 eyes of 59 patients. The study population was divided into 3 groups. We analyze 30 healthy human eyes, 35 keratoconic eyes (Amsler grade II-III) and 30 keratoconic eyes after intracorneal rings implantation. Corneal biomechanical properties of these eyes were measured with the Ocular Response Analyser (ORA-Reichert) according to two parameters: corneal hysteresis (CH) and cor…

Influence of the luminance spatial non-homogeneities of a display monitor on the contrast sensitivity function determination

Abstract The application of computer devices equipped with video monitors both in clinical practice and human vision research has become widespread. These devices offer great advantages over other traditional methodologies (such as printed tests) because they facilitate the variation of the experimental parameters or the design of new psychophysical experiences. The aim of this paper is to determine the degree to which spatial inhomogeneity affects the generation of sinusoidal gratings on a video display. Knowing this degree of tolerance will enable us to determine the minimum demands that can be made on the graphic board and the video screens for their implementation in assessing contrast …

Influence of the type of illumination on the measurement of the modulation transfer function in the living human eye: A theoretical study

Abstract Applications such as refractive surgery demand an objective appraisal of the retinal image quality. The modulation transfer function (MTF) provides that information when measured directly. Moreover, the MTF obtained using a simple and objective method such as that described in this paper allows the neural contrast sensitivity function (CSF) to be obtained from the global CSF and the MTF. When calculating the MTF it must be borne in mind whether the applicable theory is coherent or incoherent. In the literature, the developed theory presents some approximations and incongruities. Also, it is interesting to note that the method of recording the MTF (short or long time of integration,…

Non-linear Invertible Representation for Joint Statistical and Perceptual Feature Decorrelation

The aim of many image mappings is representing the signal in a basis of decorrelated features. Two fundamental aspects must be taken into account in the basis selection problem: data distribution and the qualitative meaning of the underlying space. The classical PCA techniques reduce the statistical correlation using the data distribution. However, in applications where human vision has to be taken into account, there are perceptual factors that make the feature space uneven, and additional interaction among the dimensions may arise. In this work a common framework is presented to analyse the perceptual and statistical interactions among the coefficients of any representation. Using a recen…