Higher Order Aberration Correction
with Ovtiz X-Wave
If you have keratoconus, a corneal graft, post-LASIK complications or another irregular corneal condition, you’ll know how difficult it can be to achieve truly clear vision. Even well-fitted scleral lenses can sometimes leave vision hazy, or cause glare and ghosting, especially in low light. This can be due to higher order aberrations (HOAs) - subtle optical imperfections that standard lenses cannot correct.
What are higher order aberrations?
When light enters the eye, it should focus cleanly on the retina. If the cornea is irregular in shape, as in keratoconus, following surgery or trauma, or in lasik-complications, light scatters in complex, unpredictable ways. These distortions are beyond the reach of standard optical prescriptions, which is why vision can still feel blurred or distorted, even with the best correction.
Think of HOAs like ‘visual noise’. It’s what causes visual symptoms such as glare, haloes, starburst and doubled/shadowy vision. It is very common for these symptoms to be worse at night or in the dark.
How HOA-correcting scleral lenses work:
Using advanced wavefront aberrometry, we can measure exactly how light travels through your eye. At the Scleral Lens Centre, we use the Ovitz X-Wave system to capture this data and identify the precise higher order aberrations affecting your vision.
This information is then used to create a fully bespoke scleral lens, individually designed to correct those complex distortions as well as your standard prescription. The result is typically a cleaner, more stable image and improved comfort in all lighting conditions.
This short clip from Ovitz explains what higher order aberrations of the eye are.
A more in-depth video covering how the X-Wave device can be used to improve visual quality with custom scleral lenses.
Who can benefit from HOA-Correcting Wavefront Scleral Lenses?
HOA-correcting scleral lenses can help people whose vision remains distorted even after wearing ‘regular’ scleral lenses. These lenses are specifically designed to reduce higher order aberrations (HOAs).
You may benefit from HOA-correcting lenses if you experience (and, importantly, are bothered by):
• Glare, halos or starbursts around lights, especially at night
• Blurred or double vision that persists despite normal prescriptions
• Difficulty driving at night or seeing clearly in low-light conditions
• Sensitivity to light or poor contrast vision
HOA-correcting lenses are particularly useful for people with conditions that cause irregular corneal shapes, such as:
• Keratoconus
• Post-LASIK or post-RK complications
• Corneal grafts (post-keratoplasty)
• Corneal scarring or trauma
• Irregular astigmatism
By combining detailed wavefront measurements with the stability of a custom scleral lens, these advanced designs can dramatically improve visual clarity, reduce light scatter, and restore confidence in daily activities such as driving, reading, or working at a computer.
If you’ve been told your vision cannot be improved further, HOA-correcting lenses may offer a new level of clarity.
The Process
1. Take Initial Measurements
After careful assessment of suitability, we will take impressions OR ESP scans of your eyes along with additional measurements so that your EyePrint or Freeform lenses can be designed and manufactured to the correct shape and prescription for your eyes.
2. Order Non-HOA Scleral Lenses
Your initial lenses will be ordered with standard (non-HOA) optics, using your ocular measurements to ensure a precise fit. These may have special markings on them to facilitate subsequent HOA scans. A 50% deposit is taken before lenses are ordered.
3. Collect Lenses
When the initial lenses arrive you will come to have the fit and prescription carefully checked. You will learn how to handle and care for the lenses, and you will take this pair home to start wearing them. They will NOT be correcting your residual HOAs at this point.
4. Follow-Up and HOA Scans
You will return for a follow-up appointment around 2 weeks later to review your progress, and make sure everything is as perfect as it can be. If no changes are needed, Ovitz X-Wave HOA scans are taken with the lenses in place, and a second pair is ordered with HOA optics.
5. Adjust If Needed
When the HOA-lenses arrive you will return to put them in, let them settle for 3 hours, and we repeat the Ovitz scans as well as checking your vision. It is common for final prescription adjustments to be needed at this point, and a final pair is ordered if so.
Optical Services and Glasses Dispensing
Optometric Services
The Scleral Lens Centre is located within Taylor-West & Co Optometrists. This practice offers complete optometric services, including comprehensive eye examinations including all ocular health checks and prescriptions measurements. TW&Co also has state-of-the-art equipment for imaging your central and peripheral retina, leading to early detection of conditions such as glaucoma and macular disease.
Optical Needs For Children
TW&Co also offers myopia management services for children and teenagers with myopia (short-sightedness) with specialist equipment to measure axial length, vital to monitor eye growth linked to myopic progression. Specialist contact lenses and glasses can be prescribed to slow down the progression of myopic changes. We also offer colorimetry and visual stress assessments and treatment for children and teenagers.
Spectacle Dispensing
Within the practice we have a bright and welcoming spectacle dispensing suite, where our expert Dispensing Opticians can help you find the perfect pair of glasses from our huge selection of handmade eyewear. Brands we stock include Mykita, Anne et Valentin, Ahlem, Theo and Orgreen. We particularly specialise in dispensing high prescriptions and astigmatism.
