Systems and methods are provided for improving overall vision in patients suffering from a loss of vision in a portion of the retina (e.g., loss of central vision) by providing a piggyback lens which in combination with the cornea and an existing lens in the patient's eye redirects and/or focuses light incident on the eye at oblique angles onto a peripheral retinal location. The piggyback lens can include a redirection element (e.g., a prism, a diffractive element, or an optical component with a decentered GRIN profile) configured to direct incident light along a deflected optical axis and to focus an image at a location on the peripheral retina. Optical properties of the piggyback lens can be configured to improve or reduce peripheral errors at the location on the peripheral retina. One or more surfaces of the piggyback lens can be a toric surface, a higher order aspheric surface, an aspheric Zernike surface or a Biconic Zernike surface to reduce optical errors in an image produced at a peripheral retinal location by light incident at oblique angles.

A virtual aperture integrated into an intraocular lens is disclosed. Optical rays which intersect the virtual aperture are widely scattered across the retina causing the light to be virtually prevented from reaching detectable levels on the retina. The use of the virtual aperture helps remove monochromatic and chromatic aberrations yielding high-definition retinal images. For a given definition of acceptable vision, the depth of field is increased over a larger diameter optical zone. In addition, thinner intraocular lenses can be produced since the optical zone can have a smaller diameter. This in turn allows smaller corneal incisions and easier implantation surgery.

A diffractive multifocal lens is disclosed, comprising an optical element having at least one diffractive surface, the surface profile comprising a plurality of annular concentric zones. The optical thickness of the surface profile changes monotonically with radius within each zone, while a distinct step in optical thickness at the junction between adjacent zones defines a step height. The step heights for respective zones may differ from one zone to another periodically so as to tailor diffraction order efficiencies of the optical element, in one example of a trifocal lens, step heights alternate between two values, the even-numbered step heights being lower than the odd-numbered step heights. By plotting a topographical representation of the diffraction efficiencies resulting from such a surface profile, step heights may be optimized to direct a desired level of light power into the diffraction orders corresponding to near, intermediate, and distance vision, thereby optimizing the performance of the multifocal lens.

Apparatuses, systems and methods for providing improved ophthalmic lenses, particularly intraocular lenses (IOLs). Exemplary diffractive intraocular implants (IOLs) can include a diffractive profile having multiple diffractive zones. The diffractive zones can include a central zone that includes one or more echelettes and a peripheral zone beyond the central zone having one or more peripheral echelettes. The central diffractive zone can work in a higher diffractive order than a remainder of the diffractive profile. The combination of the central and peripheral zones and an optional intermediate zone provides a longer depth of focus than a diffractive profile defined just by a peripheral and/or optional intermediate zone.

Systems and methods are provided for improving overall vision in patients suffering from a loss of vision in a portion of the retina (e.g., loss of central vision) by providing a piggyback lens which in combination with the cornea and an existing lens in the patient's eye redirects and/or focuses light incident on the eye at oblique angles onto a peripheral retinal location. The piggyback lens can include a redirection element (e.g., a prism, a diffractive element, or an optical component with a decentered GRIN profile) configured to direct incident light along a deflected optical axis and to focus an image at a location on the peripheral retina. Optical properties of the piggyback lens can be configured to improve or reduce peripheral errors at the location on the peripheral retina. One or more surfaces of the piggyback lens can be a toric surface, a higher order aspheric surface, an aspheric Zernike surface or a Biconic Zernike surface to reduce optical errors in an image produced at a peripheral retinal location by light incident at oblique angles.

Apparatuses, systems and methods for providing improved ophthalmic lenses, particularly intraocular lenses (IOLs), include features for reducing adverse optical effects from diffractive profiles of such a lens. Exemplary ophthalmic lenses can include an optic including a diffractive profile including a transition zone having an elevated surface roughness.

An intraocular lens system comprising at least one intraocular lens having an anterior surface and a posterior surface, wherein at least one surface of the lens is aspherical to provide for a continuum of retinal images to be focused at the retina in an area between two retinal eccentricities. The system may include an anterior light-converging intraocular lens 16 for positioning within the eye, the anterior lens having an anterior surface and a posterior surface; and a posterior light-diverging intraocular lens 17 for positioning within the eye posterior to the anterior lens, the posterior lens having an anterior surface and a posterior surface; wherein one or both surfaces of the anterior lens and/or one or both surfaces of the posterior lens are aspherical.

Systems and methods are provided for improving overall vision in patients suffering from a loss of vision in a portion of the retina (e.g., loss of central vision) by providing symmetric or asymmetric optic with aspheric surface which redirects and/or focuses light incident on the eye at oblique angles onto a peripheral retinal location. The intraocular lens can include a redirection element (e.g., a prism, a diffractive element, or an optical component with a decentered GRIN profile) configured to direct incident light along a deflected optical axis and to focus an image at a location on the peripheral retina. Optical properties of the intraocular lens can be configured to improve or reduce peripheral errors at the location on the peripheral retina. One or more surfaces of the intraocular lens can be a toric surface, a higher order aspheric surface, an aspheric Zernike surface or a Biconic Zernike surface to reduce optical errors in an image produced at a peripheral retinal location by light incident at oblique angles.

Ophthalmic lenses and related methods employ subsurface optical structures with enhanced refractive index distributions. An ophthalmic lens includes a lens body and a subsurface optical structure within the lens body. Sub-volumes of the optical structure have refractive indexes that vary spatially between a first limit refractive index for the optical structure and a second limit refractive index for the optical structure. The refractive indexes are equal to the first limit refractive index for the optical structure over a first section of the optical structure. The refractive indexes are equal to the second limit refractive index for the optical structure over a second section of the optical structure.

A method and system provide a multifocal ophthalmic device. The ophthalmic lens has an anterior surface, a posterior surface and at least one diffractive structure including a plurality of echelettes. The echelettes have at least one step height of at least one wavelength and not more than two wavelengths in optical path length. The diffractive structure(s) reside on at least one of the anterior surface and the posterior surface. The diffractive structure(s) provide a plurality of focal lengths for the ophthalmic lens.