The Optics of Free-Form Progressive Lenses

FREE-FORM TECHNOLOGY
Free-form surfacing, also referred to as direct or digital surfacing,
refers to a process that is capable of producing complex surface
shapes, including aspheric, atoric and even progressive addition
surfaces. A typical process begins by generating the lens surface
using a three-axis, computer numerically controlled (or CNC)
generator. With three possible axes of movement, single-point
cutting tools can produce virtually any lens surface shape with a
high degree of accuracy and smoothness. The worked lens surface
is then polished to a high luster using a flexible polishing pad that is
also dynamically controlled by a computer.
Using free-form surfacing, a laboratory can directly surface a variety
of lens designs directly onto a semi-finished lens blank in addition to
the prescription curves. With two surfaces to work with, free-form
progressive lenses represent a combination of factory-molded and
free-form-surfaced lens curves that range in complexity
from simple spherical surfaces to progressive surfaces that
have been combined with the prescription curves (Figure 1).

Back-surface lenses employ a factory molded spherical front

and a free-form-surfaced progressive back surface that has been
combined with the prescription curves; the progressive optics
are directly surfaced. Enhanced semi-finished lenses employ a factory-
molded progressive surface on the front and free-form surfaced
prescription curves that have been optically optimized on the back; the
progressive optics are factory-molded. Dual-surface lenses employ a
factory-molded progressive surface with a portion of the total addition
power on the front and a free-form surfaced progressive surface with
the remaining addition power that has been combined with the
prescription curves on the back; the progressive optics are split between
both lens surfaces.
Regardless of the type of free-form lens, the placement of the
actual progressive optics, whether on the front surface, back surface
or split between both, has minimal impact on the magnitude of the
inherent unwanted astigmatism of the design. Because a typical
spectacle lens represents an “optical system” of fairly negligible
thickness,the optics of each surface are essentially additive.
Consequently, the inherent unwanted astigmatism of progressive lenses
is not significantly influenced by placement of the progressive optics
Although the inherent astigmatism may not differ appreciably, placing
the progressive optics on the back surface can minimize unwanted
magnification effects. Skew distortion, an aberration that causes objects
to appear sheared or “bowed” through the periphery of
progressive lenses, is due both to magnification changes created by
differences in curvature (or “shape”) across the front surface and to
magnification changes as a result of the unwanted cylinder power
produced by these differences in curvature. Placing the progressive
optics on the back surface of the lens eliminates the contribution of
the front surface to these magnification changes. Moreover, because
the progressive viewing zones are brought closer to the eye, slightly
wider fields-of-view may be obtained when the progressive optics are
located on the back surface.
Nevertheless, the differences in optical performance due only to the
placement of the progressive optics are generally small. When
free-form surfacing is utilized in conjunction with sophisticated
optical design software capable of designing progressive lenses on the
fly, however, it becomes possible to match the optics of each
progressive lens exactly to the visual requirements of the individual
wearer, prior to fabrication. Given the inherent limitations
of traditional progressive lenses, this application of free-form
technology offers the most meaningful visual benefit.
Semi-finished progressive lens blanks are factory-molded in mass
quantity. These lenses are typically available in 12 addition powers per
eye, in up to a dozen materials, resulting in hundreds of lens
blanks for each base curve offered. A "short-corridor" version of
the design doubles the total number of lens blanks needed.
Consequently,traditional progressive lenses necessitate massive product
development and inventory costs. Changes to the basic design
of these lenses have therefore been limited to subtle variations in
optical design across a handful of base curves that must work
sufficiently well over relatively broad prescription ranges. Hence,
traditional progressive lenses are designed for a few “average”
prescription powers, using “average” fitting parameters, for either
“standard” or “small” frame sizes.
Unfortunately, no single progressive lens design will deliver optimum
performance for every possible combination of prescription,
fitting and frame size values. Each prescription requires a unique
optical design to fully eliminate lens aberrations. The position of
the fitted lens can introduce additional power errors. Moreover, unless
the corridor length of the lens design matches the ideal
length associated with a given frame, visual utility is further
compromised. Although certain wearers may enjoy the intended
optical performance in traditional progressive lenses, many wearers
must tolerate reduced optical performance (Figure 3).

FREE-FORM CUSTOMIZATION
Now, progressive lens designs can be fully customized to the
visual requirements of individual wearers. In the 1990s, lens
designers in Germany first began customizing progressive lenses
using free-form technology by applying atoric lens designs to the
back of progressive lens blanks using free-form surfacing. Today,
their technology has evolved into a powerful optical design engine
that performs complex calculations online in a centralized server
computer using parameters supplied by the eyecare professional.
The final lens calculations are then transmitted directly to
free-form surfacing equipment for fabrication.
Each design is dynamically manipulated in “real time” to create
a unique progressive lens fully customized to the wearer’s
prescription, fitting geometry and frame information. The ideal
geometry of the lens design is first determined, including the best
corridor length and appropriate near zone inset. The initial
optical performance is then compared against the performance of the
ideal or “target” lens, while the optics of the actual lens design
are fine-tuned on a point-by-point basis, using complex aspherization
algorithms, until the final lens reproduces the desired optical
performance of the target lens as closely as possible .

CUSTOMIZATION FOR THE PRESCRIPTION

When the wearer looks through the peripheral regions of a
spectacle lens, aberrations such as oblique astigmatism produce
unwanted sphere and cylinder power errors that degrade vision
quality and narrow the field of clear vision. (Figure 5).

Traditional lenses are only available in a limited number of base curves.

They deliver optimum optical performance only for sphere powers
located near the center of the prescription range associated
with each base curve. Other prescriptions will suffer residual
aberrations, particularly when the prescription includes cylinder
powers, since conventional lens designs cannot eliminate the errors
produced by the sphere and cylinder power simultaneously. The optical
effects of lens aberrations are exacerbated in progressive lenses.
Oblique astigmatism interacts optically with the surface astigmatism of
the progressive lens design, causing the zones
of clear vision to shrink. Lens aberrations can also cause the
viewing zones of a progressive to become distorted from their
ideal location as certain regions of unwanted astigmatism become
more blurred while other regions actually become clearer. This
distortion of the central viewing zones disrupts binocular vision
through the lenses by moving the “sweet spots” of the lens.
With sufficiently advanced software and a free-form delivery
system, it becomes possible to customize the progressive lens design
based upon the unique prescription requirements of each wearer
(Figure 6). This free-form progressive lens by Carl Zeiss Vision is precisely
customized for the wearer’s exact prescription requirements, which
ensures wide, symmetrical fields of clear vision.

By fine-tuning the optical design of the progressive lens

for the exact prescription using a sophisticated optical optimization
process, residual lens aberrations are virtually eliminated. Wearers
can therefore enjoy the widest fields of clear vision possible,
regardless of prescription. Furthermore, the binocular utility of the
lenses is maintained with more symmetrical fields of view.

CUSTOMIZATION FOR THE POSITION OF WEAR

The position of wear is the position of the fitted lens relative to
the actual wearer, as measured by pantoscopic tilt, face-form wrap
and vertex distance of the lens. Spectacle prescriptions are typically
determined using refractor-head or trialframe lenses that are positioned
perpendicular to the wearer’s lines of sight. Once fitted tothe wearer’s
face, however eyeglass frames generally leave spectacle lenses tilted.
Lens tilt introduces oblique astigmatism, which results in an increase in
sphere power and unwanted cylinder power. These unwanted
power changes can reduce the optical performance of a progressive
lens, particularly through the central viewing zones (Figure 7).

With sufficiently advanced software, it is possible to customize

the progressive lens design based upon the unique fitting parameters
of each wearer .
If the wearer’s pantoscopic tilt,face-form wrap and vertex distance are
supplied, the position of wear of the fitted lens may be modeled using
ray tracing in order to apply the necessary optical corrections across the
lens surface during the optical optimization process. Wearers can
therefore enjoy the best optical performance possible, regardless of
their unique fitting requirements. Traditional progressive
lenses are often designed to exhibit the specified optical performance
only when measured using a focimeter, such as a lensometer (Figure 9).

Free-form progressive lenses customized for the position of wear are

designed to provide the wearer with the prescribed optical performance
in the actual position of wear. As a result, small changes to the original
prescription are required at the distance and near verification points of
the lens. These sphere, cylinder, axis and addition power adjustments
are supplied as a compensated prescription, which represents the
correct lens powers to verify when using a standard focimeter.
CUSTOMIZATION FOR THE FRAME SIZE
The optical performance of a progressive lens is significantly
influenced by the length of the corridor. If the corridor is too long for a
given frame size, reading utility is greatly reduced, since the
near zone is essentially cut away. If the corridor is too short, the
optics of the lens design must be essentially “compressed.” Due to the
mathematical constraints of progressive surfaces, the rate of
change in unwanted astigmatism across a progressive lens design
must increase as the corridor length decreases, resulting in
narrower central viewing zones, reduced intermediate utility and
higher levels of peripheral astigmatism.
The corridor length of a progressive lens design should therefore
be no shorter than necessary, within the limits of physiologically
comfortable vision. Nevertheless, the corridor lengths of
“standard” progressive lenses generally offer insufficient reading
utility at shorter fitting heights. “Short-corridor” progressive lens
designs are frequently designed to work at extremely short fitting
heights, often resulting in significant optical compromises in all but
the smallest frames (Figure 10).

With sufficiently advanced software, it becomes possible to

customize and match the corridor length of the lens design to the
fitting height required by the wearer’s chosen frame style .

This maximizes the utility of the central viewing zones without

unnecessarily compromising optical performance in other regions of
the lens. Wearers can therefore enjoy sufficient reading utility with
the largest viewing zones possible, regardless of frame size.

ADDITIONAL FORMS OF CUSTOMIZATION

Other forms of optical customization for the wearer are also
possible. Each additional degree of customization serves to diminish the
gap between the unique visual needs of each wearer and the
optical design of the lens. The ideal progressive lens design for a
given wearer will depend upon the visual demands specific to his or
her lifestyle. By assessing the need, using a questionnaire, the ideal
balance between the distance and near viewing zones of the lens
design can be tailored to the individual. Progressive lens wearers
more frequently engaged in tasks associated with far vision may
prefer progressive lens designs customized with larger distance zones,
whereas wearers with greater near vision demands may prefer lens
designs customized with larger near zones.
It has also been demonstrated that individuals vary in their habitual
head movement. The total change in the wearer’s gaze is due to a
combination of head movement and eye movement. Individuals who
tend to exhibit more relative head movement are frequently referred
to as “head movers,” whereas individuals who exhibit more eye
movement are referred to as “eye movers” (Figure 12).

Because the limited width of the viewing zones of a progressive lens

may restrict lateral eye movement, “eye movers” may benefit from lens
designs customized with wider viewing zones. “Head movers,” on the
other hand, may benefit from lens designs customized with softer
gradients of power and astigmatism in order to minimize image swim
and similar magnification effects that can disrupt vision during
compensatory head movements.
CONCLUSION
The use of free-form surfacing to deliver customized progressive
lenses is arguably the most meaningful visual benefit of this
technology to wearers. The full potential of free-form technology will
only be realized when utilized in conjunction with powerful software
tools capable of “real-time” optical design using input specific to the
individual wearer.
It is possible, for instance, to use free-form surfacing technology
to deliver traditional-type progressive lenses on demand, often by
mathematically combining a predefined progressive lens design (or
“points” file) with the prescription curves normally applied to the
back of the lens blank. Free-form progressive lenses of this type
essentially replicate the performance of traditional, semi-finished
progressive lenses. A sufficiently advanced optical design and
free-form delivery system, on the other hand, can minimize patient
non-adapts and maximize patient satisfaction. ■