ASTIGMATIC LENSES

THINK

Spherical lenses can correct hyperopia, myopia and presbyopia – but there is one refractive error that spherical lenses
cannot correct, namely astigmatism.

If a person has astigmatism they will need a special type of lens to allow them to see clearly.

AIM
This unit will explain how cylindrical and sphero-cylindrical lenses focus light to correct astigmatism.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
When you have worked through this unit you should be able to:

 list the types of refractive error that astigmatic lenses can correct

 explain the difference between a cylindrical lens and a sphero-cylindrical lens

 describe the principal meridians of a cylindrical lens

 recognise the shapes of astigmatic lenses

 explain how astigmatic lenses focus light

 write and interpret the power of a sphero-cylindrical lens.

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REVIEW: ASTIGMATIC LENSES

 Light rays that enter lenses can be bent or refracted.

 Spherical lenses can be plus or minus lenses.
LENSES
 Plus lenses converge light rays, while minus lenses diverge them.
 Astigmatic lenses can be cylindrical or sphero-cylindrical lenses.
 Lenses can be used to correct refractive error.
 Spherical lenses correct hyperopia, myopia and presbyopia:
LENSES AND
- Plus lenses correct hyperopia and presbyopia;
REFRACTIVE ERROR
- Minus lenses correct myopia.
 Astigmatic lenses correct astigmatism.

SPHERICAL LENS  Plus lenses are thicker in the middle than at the edge.
SHAPE  Minus lenses are thinner in the middle than at the edge.
 Focal length is the distance between the lens and the focal point.
FOCAL LENGTH  Focal length (f) is related to the power (F) of the lens:
f = 1/F or F= 1/f
 A person who has a refractive error will need to wear spectacles (glasses) or contact
lenses so that they can see clearly and comfortably. This is because their eye is not
REFRACTIVE ERROR the correct size and shape.
 There are four main types of refractive error: myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and
presbyopia.

ASTIGMATIC LENSES

Astigmatic lenses are used to correct the focus of the eye of people with astigmatism.
Astigmatic lenses can be put into spectacle frames to help people with astigmatism see
clearly.
Astigmatic spectacles also correct the focus for people who have astigmatism combined
with another refractive error such as:
 astigmatism and hyperopia
 astigmatism and myopia
 astigmatism and presbyopia.

There are two types of astigmatic lenses: cylindrical lenses and sphero-cylindrical lenses.

ASTIGMATIC LENSES A sphero-cylindrical lens is a cylindrical lens combined with a spherical lens.
AND THE EYE
Cylindrical and sphero-cylindrical lenses have other names also:
 Cylindrical lens = cylinder lens, cyl lens

Sphero-cylindrical lens = sphero-cylinder lens, sphero-cyl lens.

The extraocular muscles move the eyeballs to point in different

directions.

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ASTIGMATIC LENSES (cont.)

A meridian is an imaginary line which crosses a lens at its optical centre. A lens has many
meridians (depending on the direction the line travels through the optical centre), but there
are only two main or “principal” meridians.

The “principal” meridians of every astigmatic lens are perpendicular (at 90) to each other.
The maximum power of the astigmatic lens lies along one of these principal meridians,
while the minimum power lies in the other principal meridian (perpendicular to it).

An astigmatic lens has two principal meridians:

 axis meridian (has the minimum power)
 power meridian (has the maximum power)

Usually we do not think about spherical lenses as having meridians because all the
meridians of a spherical lens have the same power. Only astigmatic lenses have different
powers in different meridians.

MERIDIANS

Sphere Cylinder

Figure 5.1: Spherical lenses have the same power in all meridians,
no matter what the direction of the meridian is. An astigmatic lens has
two principal meridians and these are perpendicular to each other

Astigmatic lenses have different powers in different meridians.

Spherical lenses have the same power in all meridians.

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CYLINDRICAL LENSES

Cylindrical lenses (Figures 5-2A and 5-2B) may be minus or plus powered – just like
spherical lenses may be minus or plus powered.

Axis Meridian Axis Meridian

Power
CYLINDRICAL Meridian
LENSES

Minus Cylinder Plus Cylinder

A B

Figure 5.2: Minus and plus cylindrical lenses

A good way to understand the differences between cylindrical lenses and spherical
lenses is to imagine cutting the lenses through their optical centres.
Figure 5.3 shows what a plus spherical lens looks like when it is cut in half through its
optical centre.

If you look at the inside of the lens (the cut surfaces) you can see that this plus spherical
lens has one flat (plano) edge and one convex edge.

Plus spherical lens

Cut along any

meridian (direction)

CUTTING
SPHERICAL
LENSES Convex (plus) edge

Plano (flat) edge

Figure 5.3: Cutting a plus spherical lens in half to show the inside of the lens (the cut surfaces)

We can cut the lens through the optical centre of a spherical lens in any direction (or
meridian) and the shape of the two cut surfaces will always be the same. This is because
a plus spherical lens has the same power in all meridians.

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CYLINDRICAL LENSES (cont.)

If we cut a cylindrical lens along the power meridian, we get two halves as shown in
Figure 5.4. You can see that the inside cut surfaces are the same shape as those for the
plus spherical lens. There is a flat (plano) edge and a convex edge. This means that in
this meridian there is plus focusing power.

Cut along This is the same shape

power meridian as any meridian of a
plus spherical lens

Plus cylinder lens

Figure 5.4: Cutting a plus cylindrical lens in half along its power meridian

CUTTING
CYLINDRICAL If we now cut the cylindrical lens along its axis meridian (Figure 5.5) we get cut surfaces
LENSES (cont.) that have two flat (plano) edges. Both edges are straight and parallel, which means the
axis meridian has no focusing power and no prism.

There is no power along

the axis meridian
Cut along because both surfaces
power meridian are parallel

Positive cylinder lens

Figure 5.5: Cutting a plus cylindrical lens in half along its axis meridian

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CYLINDRICAL LENSES (cont.)

Now, if we cut the cylindrical lens in any direction between the power meridian and the
axis meridian (Figure 5.6), the upper surface becomes less curved the closer the cut is to
the axis meridian. This means that the maximum power of a cylindrical lens is only along
the power meridian, and the power at any meridian becomes less as it gets closer to the
axis meridian where the power is zero.

Even less power at a greater

angle to the power meridian
(getting closer to the zero power
of the axis meridian)

Power is maximum
across power meridian
CUTTING
CYLINDRICAL
LENSES (cont.)

Power meridian

Less power at an angle

to the power meridian
Axis meridian

Figure 5.6: Power and axis meridian

Cylindrical lenses and spherical lenses refract light rays differently:

 Spherical lenses refract incident parallel light rays to a single focal point or virtual
focal point.
 Cylindrical lenses refract incident parallel light rays to a focal line or virtual focal line.

Plus spherical lens

Focal point

REFRACTION OF Focal line

LIGHT THROUGH A
CYLINDRICAL LENS

Plus cylindrical lens

Figure 5.7: A plus spherical lens and a plus cylindrical lens refracting incident parallel light

Figure 5.7 shows the plus spherical lens refracting the incident parallel rays to a single focal
point; while a plus cylinder lens refracts light to a focal line rather than a single focal point.
You can see that the focal line is perpendicular (at 90) to the power meridian.

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CYLINDRICAL LENSES (cont.)

Figure 5.8 shows parallel incident rays of light being refracted by a minus spherical lens
and a minus cylindrical lens. The minus spherical lens forms a virtual focal point. The
minus cylindrical lens forms a virtual focal line.

Minus spherical lens

Virtual
focal point
REFRACTION OF
LIGHT THROUGH A
CYLINDRICAL LENS
(cont.)

Virtual
focal line

Minus cylindrical lens

Figure 5.8: A minus spherical lens and a minus cylindrical lens

refracting incident parallel light

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SPHERO-CYLINDRICAL LENSES
Sphero-cylindrical lenses are also called sphero-cylinder lenses or just sphero-cyls.

Even though sphero-cylindrical lenses are just single lenses, they can be thought of as:

 two cylindrical lenses that have been stuck together perpendicularly (at 90), or
 a spherical lens that is stuck to a cylindrical lens.

Sphero-cylindrical lenses have power in both principal meridians, but a different power in each:

 The power meridian has the maximum focusing power;

 The axis meridian has the minimum focusing power.

Unlike cylindrical lenses, the axis meridian of a sphero-cylindrical lens has a power that is greater than zero. This
means that a plus sphero-cylindrical lens forms two focal lines, and a minus sphero-cylindrical lens forms two virtual
focal lines (not just one like a cylindrical lens).

Vertical meridian
Horizontal focal line

Vertical
focal line

Horizontal meridians

Figure 5.9: A plus sphero-cylindrical lens forms two focal lines

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STANDARD AXIS NOTATION

Standard notation is used to show the direction of the power meridian of a cylindrical or a sphero-cylindrical lens.

For both right and left eyes we measure anti-clockwise from the horizontal meridian in degrees (º).

Figure 5.10: Axis scale used for measuring the orientation of cylindrical lenses

Although the horizontal line is both 0 and 180, we always call it 180. Therefore, the axis of a cylindrical or sphero-
cylindrical lens can be anything between 1 and 180.

Usually, we also do not use the degree sign (º) because it can be confused with a zero (0).

POWER OF ASTIGMATIC LENSES

We measure the power of astigmatic lenses in dioptres cylinder. The short way of writing this is DC.

When you write a sphero-cylindrical lens prescription, you need to write both the
spherical part and the cylindrical part of the lens power. You also need to write what
orientation (direction) the axis of the cylinder is in using standard axis notation.

Example:

Sphere power

WRITING
SPHERO-CYLINDRICAL 4.00 D
LENS POWERS or: 4.00 D / 1.00 DC x 90
1.00 DC x 90
or simply: 4.00 / 1.00 x 90
Cylindrical Axis
power

We say: “Minus four, minus one, axis ninety”.

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ASTIGMATIC LENS SHAPE

The thickness of the edge of an astigmatic lens is different at different places around its edge.

Figure 5.11: The edge thickness of a cylindrical lens varies

Just like spherical lenses, astigmatic lenses can come in different shapes.

Astigmatic lens surfaces can be:

 Plano (flat)
 Convex (curved like the outside of a ball)
 Concave (curved like the inside of a ball).

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SUMMARY: ASTIGMATIC LENSES

ASTIGMATIC LENSES
Astigmatic Lenses and the Eyes:
 Cylindrical lenses correct astigmatism.
 Sphero-cylindrical lenses correct astigmatism combined with another refractive error (hyperopia, myopia or
presbyopia).

Meridians:
 A meridian is an imaginary line which crosses a lens at its optical centre.
 An astigmatic lens has two principal meridians:
- axis meridian (minimum power meridian)
- power meridian (maximum power meridian).
 The meridians of a spherical lens are all equal in power.

CYLINDRICAL LENSES
 Cylindrical lenses correct astigmatism.
 Cylindrical lenses can be minus or plus powered.
 The two principal meridians of a cylindrical lens have different powers:
- the power meridian has the maximum focusing power
- the axis meridian has the zero focusing power (plano).

Refraction of Light Through a Cylindrical Lens:

 Spherical lenses refract incident parallel light to a single focal point or virtual focal point.
 Cylindrical lenses refract incident parallel light to a single focal line or virtual focal line.
 The focal line of a cylindrical lens is perpendicular to its power meridian.

SPHERO-CYLINDRICAL LENSES
 Sphero-cylindrical lenses correct astigmatism that is combined with myopia, hyperopia or presbyopia.
 Sphero-cylindrical lenses are single lenses, but they are like:
- two cylindrical lenses that have been stuck together, or
- a spherical lens that is stuck to a cylindrical lens.
 The two principal meridians of a sphero-cylindrical lens have different powers:
- the power meridian has the maximum focusing power
- the axis meridian has the minimum focusing power.

Refraction of Light Through a Sphero-Cylindrical Lens:

 Sphero-cylindrical lenses refract incident parallel light to two focal lines or virtual focal lines.

STANDARD AXIS NOTATION

 Used to show the direction of the power meridian of an astigmatic lens.
 Measured in degrees in an anti-clockwise direction from 1 to 180.

POWER OF ASTIGMATIC LENSES

 We measure astigmatic lens power in dioptres cylinder. The short way of writing this is DC.
 Writing a sphero-cylindrical lens prescription, you need to write:
- spherical part of the lens power;
- cylindrical part of the lens power;
- axis of the cylinder using standard axis notation.

ASTIGMATIC LENS SHAPE

 The thickness of an astigmatic lens changes at different places around its edge.
 The thickness of a spherical lens is constant around its edge.

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TEST YOURSELF QUESTIONS

1. How is an astigmatic lens different from a spherical lens?

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2. What are the two principal meridians of an astigmatic lens? How are they different?

___________________________________________________________________________________

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3. Is the focal line formed by a cylindrical lens in the same direction as the power meridian or the
axis meridian?

___________________________________________________________________________________

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4. What kind of refractive error(s) does a sphero-cylindrical lens correct?

___________________________________________________________________________________

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5. What is the axis of this sphero-cylindrical lens: 5.25 / 1.25 x 67?

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