Is Higher Order Aberration Associated with Reduced Visual Acuity in Children?

The purpose of this study is to examine whether the retinal image quality metrics calculated from the optical aberrations of the eye account for variation in visual acuity (VA) as measured by high contrast single letter chart. Strehl ratios and modulation transfer functions (MTF) were calculated from the ocular aberrations obtained from Hartmann-Shack images of pre-school children aged from 3 to 6 years. The Strehl ratios were grouped into three VA groups of 6/6, 6/9 and 6/12 and compared. No significant differences in Strehl ratios were observed. This finding suggests that optical aberrations alone do not completely describe the visual performance of the eye.