RU2827085C2 - High-resolution intraocular lens with increased depth of field of view - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: medicine.

SUBSTANCE: described is an effective aperture built into an intraocular lens. Optical beams which cross the effective aperture are widely scattered over the retina, thereby preventing the light from reaching detectable levels on the retina. Use of an effective aperture helps to eliminate monochromatic and chromatic aberrations, giving high-definition images on the retina. For a given definition of acceptable vision, the depth of the field of view increases in the optical zone of a larger diameter. In addition to this, thinner intraocular lenses can be made, since the optical zone can have a smaller diameter.

EFFECT: possibility to reduce corneal incisions and simplify implantation surgery.

25 cl, 12 dwg

Description

Claim of priority

[0001] This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 16/380,622, entitled “HIGH DEFINITION AND EXTENDED DEPTH OF FIELD INTRAOCULAR LENS,” filed April 10, 2019. The contents of the above-mentioned application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

State of the art

[0002] The human eye often suffers from aberrations such as defocus and astigmatism, which must be corrected to provide acceptable vision to maintain a high quality of life. Correction of these defocus and astigmatism aberrations can be accomplished using a lens. These lenses can be located in the plane of the glasses, in the plane of the cornea (contact lens or corneal implant), or inside the eye as a phakic (intact lens of the eye) or aphakic (removable lens of the eye) intraocular lens (IOL).

[0003] In addition to the basic aberrations of defocus and astigmatism, the eye often has higher-order aberrations such as spherical aberration and other aberrations. Chromatic aberrations, aberrations associated with changes in focus depending on wavelength in the visible spectrum, are also present in the eye. These higher-order aberrations and chromatic aberrations have a scattering effect on the subject's quality of vision. The scattering effects of higher-order aberrations and chromatic aberrations increase as the pupil size increases. Therefore, vision when these aberrations are eliminated is often referred to as high-definition (HD) vision.

[0004] Presbyopia is a condition where the eye loses its ability to focus on objects at various distances. Aphakic eyes have presbyopia. A standard single-focus IOL implanted in an aphakic eye will restore vision at one focal distance. To provide good vision over a range of distances, a variety of options are available, including the use of a single-focus IOL combined with bifocal or progressive supplemental glasses. A monovision IOL system is another option for restoring near and far vision - one eye is set to a different focal distance than its counterpart, thus providing binocular summation of the two focal points and providing blended vision.

[0005] Monovision is currently the most common method of correcting presbyopia, using an IOL to correct the dominant eye for distance vision and the non-dominant eye for near vision in an attempt to achieve spectacle-free binocular vision from distance to near. In addition, IOLs can be bifocal or multifocal. Most IOLs are designed to have one or more focal areas distributed in a complementary range. However, using elements with a set of individual foci is not the only possible design strategy: the use of extended depth of field (EDOF) elements, i.e. elements that provide a continuous distribution of focal segments with the required complementarity to each other, can also be considered. These methods are not entirely acceptable because they deflect light from the various focal areas, degrading the subject's vision.

[0006] What is needed in this area are improved IOLs with efficient apertures to overcome these limitations.

The essence of the invention

[0007] An effective aperture incorporated into an intraocular lens (IOL) is described. The design and placement enable optical rays that cross the effective aperture and are widely dispersed on the retina to be effectively prevented from reaching detectable levels on the retina. The effective aperture helps eliminate monochromatic and chromatic aberrations, producing high-definition images on the retina. For a given clarity of acceptable vision, the depth of field of view is increased in the optical zone of a larger diameter IOL. Eyes with cataracts may have secondary problems due to injury, previous eye surgery, or eye disorders that would not be properly corrected with normal IOL designs. Examples of eyes with complications include: asymmetric astigmatism, keratoconus, postoperative corneal transplant, asymmetric pupils, very strong astigmatism, and the like. Due to its ability to eliminate unwanted aberrations, the author's efficient aperture IOL design would be very effective in providing improved vision compared to normal large optical IOLs.

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a concept for a method for producing thinner IOLs because the optic zone can have a smaller diameter, making it possible to reduce corneal incisions and simplify the implantation surgery. Eyes with cataracts may have secondary problems due to injury, previous eye surgery, or an eye disorder that would not be properly corrected with normal IOL designs. Examples of eyes with complications include: asymmetric astigmatism, keratoconus, postoperative corneal transplant, asymmetric pupils, very strong astigmatism, and the like. Due to its ability to eliminate unwanted aberrations, the described IOL design with an effective aperture is very effective in providing improved vision compared to normal large optical IOLs.

[0009] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an IOL with an effective aperture that exhibits a reduction in monochromatic and chromatic aberrations, as well as an increase in the depth of field of view, while providing sufficient contrast to resolve an image over a selected range of distances.

[0010] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an IOL with an effective aperture that provides a reduction in central thickness compared to other IOLs of the same optical power.

[0011] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an effective aperture that can be realized as variable profiles of a positive and negative (converging and diverging) lens with high magnification.

[0012] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an effective aperture that can be realized as a surface of highly magnified diverging lenses.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an effective aperture that can be realized as a surface of high-magnification diverging lenses in combination with alternating profiles of high-magnification positive and negative lenses.

[0014] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an effective aperture that can be realized as prismatic profiles in combination with alternating profiles of positive and negative lenses with high magnification.

[0015] Another object of the present invention is to overcome these limitations by providing phakic or aphakic IOLs that simultaneously: provide correction of defocus and astigmatism, reduce higher order and chromatic aberrations, and provide an increase in depth of field for improved vision quality.

[0016] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of an effective aperture that can be used in a phakic or aphakic IOL, corneal implant, contact lens, or used in a laser corneal surgery procedure (LASIK, PRK, etc.) to provide an increase in depth of field of vision and/or to provide high definition vision.

[0017] Another goal is to create an IOL for eyes with complications such as asymmetric astigmatism, keratoconus, postoperative corneal transplant, asymmetric pupils, very strong astigmatism, and the like.

[0018] Another goal is to create an IOL capable of eliminating unwanted aberrations to provide improved vision compared to normal large optical IOLs.

[0019] Another object of the present invention is to provide a concept of replacing the effective aperture with a real cloudy aperture and realizing the same optical advantages as for the effective aperture.

[0020] Other objects and additional advantages and benefits associated with the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description, examples and claims that follow.

Brief description of the drawings

[0021] Fig. 1 illustrates a basic method for reducing monochromatic aberrations using pupil size;

[0022] Fig. 2 (A and B) illustrates a basic method for reducing chromatic aberrations using pupil size;

[0023] Fig. 3 (A and B) illustrates the basic concept of an effective aperture for limiting the effective pupil size;

[0024] Fig. 4 illustrates an effective aperture as a high magnification lens section incorporated into an IOL;

[0025] Fig. 5 illustrates the effective aperture as a section of a diverging lens;

[0026] Fig. 6 (A and B) illustrates an effective aperture as a diverging lens (or prism) section in combination with a high magnification lens section;

[0027] Fig. 7 (A and B) illustrates the use of an effective aperture to prevent the scattering effect of a small optical zone;

[0028] Fig. 8 illustrates an example of a lens A with an oblong-shaped optical zone and an example of a lens B with a circular-shaped optical zone;

[0029] Fig. 9 illustrates azimuthally symmetric radial profiles;

[0030] Fig. 10 illustrates symmetrical radial profiles by comparing elements A, B, C, D and E;

[0031] Fig. 11 illustrates two-dimensional regions of the lens and

[0032] Fig. 12 illustrates the geometry of one of the two-dimensional high-magnification lenses.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment

[0033] The present description describes in detail embodiments of the present invention; however, it should be understood that the described embodiments are merely illustrative of the present invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the specific functional and structural details described herein should not be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a basis for presenting a concept to a person skilled in the art for the purpose of variously using the present invention, essentially in any structure with corresponding details.

[0034] Figure 1 illustrates a single positive (converging) lens 1 centered on an optical axis 2. An incident ray 3 is parallel to the optical axis and will intersect the focal point 4 of the lens. If the viewing plane 5 is located at a large distance from the focal point, the incident ray will continue until it intersects the viewing plane. If we track all incident rays at the same ray height as incident ray 3, we will place a circle of confusion 6 on the viewing plane. Other incident rays with a ray height less than incident ray 3 will fall inside this circle of confusion 6. One of such rays is incident ray 7, which is closer to the optical axis than incident ray 3. Incident ray 7 also intersects the focal point 4 and then the viewing plane 5. If we track all incident rays with the same ray height as incident ray 7, we track circle of confusion 8, which is smaller than circle of confusion 6.

[0035] The optical principle presented here is that as the height of parallel incident rays decreases, the corresponding circle of confusion also decreases. This simple relationship applies to the human eye. In other words, for a given amount of defocus (dioptric error) in the eye, vision improves as the height of the incident rays decreases. This principle is used when someone squints in an attempt to see an out-of-focus object more clearly.

[0036] The tracking in Figure 1 refers to one wavelength of the incident light. For polychromatic light, for three wavelengths, in this case, the situation in Figure 2 is obtained. It is well known that for the components of the eye and for typical optical materials, as the wavelength increases, the refractive index decreases. In Figure 2A, the collecting lens 21 has an optical axis 22. The incident beam 23 contains three waves of different lengths, blue (450 nm), green (550 nm) and red (650 nm) light. Due to the difference in refractive indices for the three wavelengths, the beam 24 of blue light is refracted more strongly than the beam 25 of green light, and the beam of green light is refracted more strongly than the beam 26 of red light. If the beam of green light is in focus, it will intersect the observation plane 27 on the optical axis. The chromatic blur of these three beams results in a chromatic circle 28 of confusion on the observation plane. In Figure 2B, the incident chromatic beam 29 has a lower beam height than the chromatic beam 23 in 2A. This results in a reduction of the chromatic circle of confusion 33 at the viewing plane. Thus, as for the monochromatic beams in Figure 1, the chromatic confusion is reduced as the height of the chromatic beam is reduced.

[0037] Figures 1 and 2 illustrate that decreasing the beam height (decreasing the pupil diameter) reduces both monochromatic and chromatic aberrations on the retina, thus improving the quality of vision. Another way of describing this is that the depth of field increases as the beam height decreases.

[0038] Figure 3A illustrates a collecting lens 34 with an optical axis 2 and an aperture 35. An incident ray 36 bypasses the aperture and thus passes through the focal point 37 of the lens and intersects the observation plane 38 where it forms a small circle of confusion 39. An incident ray 40 is blocked by the aperture and thus cannot be extended to the observation plane to form a larger circle of confusion 41. An aperture that limits the height of the incident ray reduces the blur on the observation plane. In Figure 3B, the authors illustrate what the authors describe as an “effective aperture.” That is, it is not the actual aperture that blocks the rays, but the optical effect is approximately the same. The rays 43 that propagate through the effective aperture 42 are widely distributed so that there is very little contribution to scattered light (soft light) in only one spot on the viewing plane. This is the main mechanism of operation of the IOL of the present invention. Sometimes, within a few months to a few years after cataract surgery and IOL implantation, a condition called posterior capsular opacification (PCO) develops on the clear posterior capsule of the lens, and this can adversely affect the quality of vision. The occurrence of PCO is reported to occur in 5% to 50% of eyes undergoing cataract surgery and IOL implantation. Treatment to remove PCO often involves intervention with an Nd:YAG laser to perform a posterior capsulotomy. In this case, the laser is focused through the IOL to perform the capsulotomy. If instead the effective aperture becomes opacified, such as the true aperture, then this treatment would be delayed in time. The described effective aperture is intentionally designed to provide the benefits of a small aperture while still allowing YAG capsulotomy for the treatment of PCO.

[0039] Figure 4 illustrates a general view of an IOL that utilizes an effective aperture. In this figure, the central optic zone 46 provides correction for defocus, astigmatism, and any other correction required of the lens. Typically, for an IOL that utilizes an effective aperture, the diameter of the central optic zone is smaller than that of a traditional IOL. This results in a decrease in thickness in the center, which simplifies implantation of the IOL and makes it possible to reduce the corneal incision during surgery. The effective aperture 48 is located further outward and the haptic element 50 of the IOL is located at the outermost periphery. The effective aperture is connected to the optic zone by a transition region 47 and the haptic element is connected to the effective aperture by a transition region 49. The transition regions 47 and 49 are designed to provide zero-order and first-order continuity of the surface on one side of the transition region. A common way to do this is to use a polynomial function such as a cubic Bezier function. Methods for forming transition regions such as these are known to those skilled in the art.

[0040] In a preferred embodiment, the effective aperture zone 48 is a sequence of positive and negative high-magnification lens profiles. Thus, the light rays that cross this region are widely dispersed behind the IOL. These profiles can be implemented as successive cones, profiles approximated by polynomials (such as Bezier functions), rational splines, diffractive profiles, or other similar profiles, as long as the region as a whole correctly redirects and/or disperses the refracted rays. A preferred application is smooth high-magnification profiles compared to diffractive profiles, since this simplifies the manufacture of the IOL on a high-precision machine or with molds for molding. As is known to those skilled in the art, the back side of the haptic element should contain a square edge to slow down the growth of cells that lead to opacification of the posterior lens capsule.

[0041] Figure 5 illustrates another profile for the effective aperture zone 51, namely a diverging lens profile. Note that this requires a thicker edge profile than the approach in Figure 4. In Figure 6A, the authors show an enlarged view of preferred alternating profiles of positive and negative high-power lenses with incident and transmitted rays. Figure 6B illustrates the effect of combining the profile in Figure 6A with either an underlying prism or a diverging lens. In this case, the resulting rays are not only widely diverged, they are directed away from the macula of the eye, or the central visual section of the retina, again due to the wider edge of the lens.

[0042] Figure 7A illustrates a high power IOL 60, typically with a relatively small optic diameter and a large central thickness. When the pupil of the eye is larger than the optic zone, incident rays 64 may bypass the optic zone altogether and only intersect the haptic element 61 on their way to the retina 63. This situation would cause noticeable artifacts in the eye during peripheral vision. Incident rays 62 that intersect the optic zone are expected to be correctly refracted into the central visual zone of the retina. In Figure 7B, the authors illustrate the same optics, but now with an effective aperture 65 between the optic zone and the haptic element. In this case, incident rays 64 that intersect the lens outside the optic zone are dispersed across the retina without causing visible artifacts.

[0043] Taken together, these characteristics of an IOL that contains an effective aperture can be accurately described as high definition (HD) and increased depth of field (EDOF).

[0044] A general view of the effective aperture of the IOL is illustrated in Figure 4. In a preferred embodiment, the diameter of the central optic zone 46 is 3.0 mm, and the width of the effective aperture 48 is 1.5 mm. Thus, the combination of the central optic zone and the effective aperture is an optic with a diameter of 6.0 mm, which is similar to conventional commercially available IOLs.

[0045] Spherical, Toric, and Zero-Aberration Optical Zones. A significant proportion of cataract patients have astigmatism in their corneas. After removal of the crystalline lens, the remaining optics of the eye with an astigmatic cornea are ideally corrected with a toric or astigmatic lens. For these patients, the central optic of the authors' lens is made toric to provide improved vision correction. In addition, even if the optic is small, there is still some spherical aberration that can be corrected. Thus, an optimally corrected optic zone would provide spherical aberration correction for all lenses and toric correction for patients with corneal astigmatism.

[0046] Toric correction is easily accomplished by those skilled in the art by providing two major types of magnification in two major directions that would be compatible with the astigmatic magnifications of the cornea of the eye.

[0047] Spherical aberrations, for either a spherical or a toric lens, are corrected using a conical profile on one or more surfaces of the lens. Such a lens is said to have zero aberrations since there are zero monochromatic aberrations in the lens for an on-axis distant object. The apical radius Ra of the conical profile is calculated as usual for the desired paraxial magnification of the lens. The conical constant K is then selected based on the refractive index of the lens material, the thickness of the lens at the center, and the shape of the anterior and posterior surfaces of the lens.

[0048] In the case where the correction is to be astigmatic, the shape of at least one of the surfaces of the lens is biconical, having a conical profile in two orthogonal principal directions. In a preferred embodiment, the toric optic has a design of identical biconvex surfaces, where each surface is biconical. The non-toric optic has a design of identical biconvex surfaces, where each surface is conical. In the case of both a biconical and a conical surface, the optimal conical constant K for the surface is determined using optical ray tracing known to those skilled in the art.

[0049] Multiple Focal Points. Some patients may prefer optics with multiple focal points that provide vision correction for a specific distance. One example is a bifocal optic, which typically provides focusing power for both near and far vision. Another example is a trifocal optic, which provides focusing power for near, intermediate, and far vision. In either case, to produce an IOL with multiple focal points, the optic zone is modified to produce these focal zones using refractive or diffractive optics, and the effective aperture remains outside the last focal zone.

[0050] In some applications, the effective aperture may appear as an annular region with optical zones on each side of the annular region. The shape of the annular effective aperture may also be an arbitrary shape, for example, to accommodate an astigmatic optical zone or an asymmetric haptic region. This is illustrated in Figure 8. In this Figure, lens A denotes an optical zone of an oblong shape and thus the inner contour of the effective aperture must adapt to this shape. The inner contour of the haptic zone is circular, so that the outer contour of the effective aperture is circular. In this Figure, lens B depicts the optical zone as circular, so that the inner contour of the effective aperture is circular. The inner haptic contour is oblong so that the outer contour of the effective aperture is oblong. In each case, there are transition zones between each pair of zones to smoothly connect the regions so that visual artifacts are not introduced into the eye. Alternatively, the transition regions may have variable widths so that the inner and outer contours of the effective aperture may have any desired shape.

[0051] The IOL designs discussed herein may be made from any biocompatible optical material commonly used for IOLs, including hard and soft materials. They may also be manufactured using CNC machines or molds, or other methods used to manufacture IOLs. The effective aperture may be implemented as a one-dimensional profile that is symmetrical in the azimuthal direction, or a two-dimensional profile that utilizes thin areas of the lens.

[0052] In Figure 9, azimuthally symmetric radial profiles are illustrated. The profiles may be completely identical or adjustable in the azimuthal direction. These profiles may be refractive or diffractive in nature. Although eight different radial profiles are illustrated, the radial profiles are continuous in the azimuthal direction. The radial profiles may have alternating positive and negative magnification, may all have positive magnification, or may all have sections with negative magnification. The junctions between all areas with magnification are smooth to prevent visual artifacts.

[0053] In Figure 10, other symmetrical radial profiles are illustrated that contain combinations of planar, negative magnification shapes and basic wedge shapes in addition to or instead of the high magnification curves shown in Figure 8. Referring to Figure 10, here, element A depicts a simple basic plane shape. In Figure 10, element B depicts a basic shape with negative magnification. This curved profile with negative magnification can generally be represented as part of a sphere, a cone, or a higher order curve, such as a polynomial curve. In Figure 10, element C depicts a segmented profile with negative magnification of element B, where the curve is segmented like a Fresnel lens to keep the overall thickness of the lens small. In Figure 10, element D depicts a profile with a basic wedge shape, and element E in Figure 10 depicts a segmented version of the wedge-based shape, where the wedge is segmented like a Fresnel lens to keep the overall thickness of the lens small. Although the segmented profiles of elements C and E are illustrated with sharp kinks, in practice, the segment boundaries are implemented using smooth features such as fillets or Bezier curves to prevent the observed artifacts caused by sharp kinks. In addition, a smooth transition region is placed between the optical zone and the effective aperture, as described elsewhere herein. These basic shapes can be used in combination with or instead of high-magnification features to improve the effectiveness of the effective aperture.

[0054] Figure 11 illustrates two-dimensional regions of a lens oriented in the polar direction. High-magnification lenses, with positive and negative magnification, are arranged alternately in both the radial and azimuthal directions. The Figure illustrates two lenses with positive magnification and two lenses with negative magnification. The actual geometry of these two-dimensional polar lenses is of the same order as the radial profiles.

[0055] Alternatively, all two-dimensional high-power lenses may be converging or diverging lenses. In this case, the high-power lenses are separated by small smooth transition regions (e.g., with a continuous polynomial interpolation, such as a Bezier curve) to prevent the appearance of visual artifacts. This is the preferred two-dimensional structure of a high-power lens when there are several lenses in the azimuthal direction. In this case, the individual lenses appear like small pillows, where the pillows are above the main surface for positive-power lenses and below the surface for negative-power lenses.

[0056] Figure 12 illustrates the geometry for a two-dimensional high power lens. In the upper right portion of the figure, the authors show a front view of a high power lens. There is a central high power optic region and a surrounding transition region. The radial extent of this region is denoted r , the width of the transition region is denoted t , and the opposite azimuthal side is denoted theta . In the lower left portion of the figure, the authors show a side view of one of the lens profiles. The central portion represents the high power optic zone and the two lateral curves represent transition zones. The interface between the optic zone and the transition zones has zero- and first-order continuity. At the edge of the lens boundary, the transition coincides with the shape of the effective aperture base (which is typically a vertical line on the IOL). At the edge of the lens, there is also zero- and first-order continuity between the transition curve (typically a polynomial curve) and the edge. The shape of this small region of the high-magnification lens is chosen so that the radial extent r is approximately equal to the arc length of the central part of the region.

[0057] The central optical zone can be designed using standard IOL design concepts to achieve sphere, cylinder, and axis corrections, as well as higher order corrections such as spherical aberration control. These design concepts are known to those skilled in the art.

[0058] The preferred effective aperture profiles illustrated in Figure 4 have variable positive and negative lens profiles with focal lengths on the order of +/- 1.5 mm. These lens surface profiles can be generated using cones, polynomial-approximated profiles (such as cubic Bezier splines), rational splines, and combinations of these and other curves. The geometry of the lens profiles is selected to adequately disperse the transmitted optical rays across the retina, while still being relatively easy to manufacture using a high-precision machine or molding process. It is also possible to place a smooth surface on one profile (e.g., on the front surface) and low-power lens profiles with high magnification on another surface profile (e.g., on the back surface).

[0059] Using the preferred effective aperture profiles illustrated in Figure 4, the edge thickness of the IOL and the central optic zone thickness at the center can be very small, even for a high magnification IOL. The lens material can be the same as that used for other soft or hard IOL designs.

[0060] The IOL design provides very good, high-definition, distance vision and the range of "visual acuity" can be controlled by defining what is meant by "visual acuity" (e.g., 20/40 acuity) and the relative size of the central optic zone and the width of the effective aperture. A simple equation [Smith G, Relation between spherical refractive error and visual acuity, Optometry Vis. Sci. 68, 591-8, 1991] for estimating acuity for a given pupil diameter and spherical refractive error is given in equation (1a and 1b).

A=sharpness in minutes of arc (A=Sd/20), i.e., the minimum angle of resolution

k=constant determined from clinical studies, mean value 0.65

D=pupil diameter in mm

E=spherical refractive error, in diopters

Sd=Snellen denominator

[0061] The second equation is postulated to be more accurate for low levels of refractive error and gives a reasonable result.

For E=0, A=1 arc min or 20/20.

Solving (1b) for E gives equation (2).

Equation (1b) tells us the visual acuity A for a given range of visual field depth (E × 2) in diopters and pupil diameter D.

Equation (2) tells the range of visual field depth in diopters for a given visual acuity A and pupil diameter D. For example, for:

Sharpness 20/40, A=40/20=2 min arc

D=3.0 mm

k=0.65

Depth of field = 2E = 1.8 D. Using (1b),

[0062] The concept of an effective aperture may be used in a phakic or aphakic IOL, in a corneal implant, a contact lens, or used in a laser corneal surgery procedure (LASIK, PRK, etc.) to provide an increase in the depth of field of view and/or to provide high definition vision. It would also be possible to replace the effective aperture with a real opaque aperture and realize the same optical benefits as for the effective aperture.

[0063] It should be understood that although a particular form of the present invention is illustrated, it should not be limited to the particular form or system described and shown herein. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention, and the present invention should not be considered limited thereto, as shown and described in the description and in any drawings/figures included herein.

[0064] One skilled in the art will readily recognize that the present invention is well adapted to achieve the ends contemplated and to obtain these results and advantages, as well as those inherent therein. The embodiments, methods, procedures and techniques described herein are currently representative of preferred embodiments, are intended to be illustrative and are not considered to be limiting in scope. Changes thereto and other applications will be made by those skilled in the art, they are within the spirit of the present invention and are defined by the scope of the appended claims. Although the present invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the present invention, as claimed, should not necessarily be limited to such specific embodiments. In fact, various modifications of the described modes of carrying out the present invention, which are obvious to those skilled in the art, are intended to be within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (29)

1. An intraocular lens that provides improved vision by spreading out-of-focus rays, caused by light aberrations in an individual's eye, across the individual's retina, thereby: the intraocular lens has an effective aperture located on the first periphery of said intraocular lens and connected to the optical zone via a transition region, and a haptic element located on the second periphery and connected to said effective aperture via said transition region, said transition region having zero-order and first-order continuity, wherein the shape of the optical zone differs from the shape of the effective aperture; said effective aperture is designed to be implemented as a positive and negative lens, where light rays crossing said transition region and said effective aperture are distributed across the retina using refraction to reduce monochromatic and chromatic aberrations and are defocused due to a change in focal length, thereby increasing the depth of the individual's visual field. 2. The intraocular lens of claim 1, wherein said effective aperture is designed and positioned to enable treatment of posterior lens capsule opacification using an Nd:YAG laser. 3. The intraocular lens of claim 1, wherein said optical zone is designed and positioned to correct spherical aberrations. 4. An intraocular lens according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the surface of said optical zone of the lens is biconical, is designed and placed to correct astigmatism. 5. The intraocular lens of claim 1, wherein said effective aperture provides contrast for image resolution in a selected range of distances. 6. An intraocular lens according to claim 1, wherein said effective aperture is designed with the possibility of being implemented using one- or two-dimensional optical profiles. 7. An intraocular lens according to claim 1, having optical profiles located on at least one side of the intraocular lens. 8. An intraocular lens according to claim 7, wherein said optical profiles have positive magnification. 9. An intraocular lens according to claim 7, wherein said optical profiles have negative magnification. 10. An intraocular lens according to claim 7, wherein said optical profiles have alternating positive and negative magnification. 11. An intraocular lens according to claim 1, having an effective aperture region formed to scatter light. 12. The intraocular lens of claim 1, wherein said optical zone provides at least one optical power. 13. An intraocular lens according to claim 1, wherein said effective aperture contains transition zones of various shapes. 14. An intraocular lens according to claim 1, wherein said lens is constructed from a biocompatible material. 15. An intraocular lens that provides improved vision by spreading defocused rays caused by light aberrations in an individual's eye across the individual's retina, wherein: the intraocular lens is made of a biologically compatible material, having an effective aperture located on the first periphery of said intraocular lens and connected to the optical zone via a transition region, and a haptic element located on the second periphery and connected to said effective aperture via said transition region, wherein said transition region has zero-order and first-order continuity; said effective aperture has an optical profile in conjunction with alternating profiles of positive and negative lenses, both in the radial and azimuthal directions, and selected from the group consisting of successive cones, profiles approximated by polynomials, rational splines and diffractive profiles, wherein rays of light crossing said transition region and said effective aperture are distributed across the retina using refraction to reduce monochromatic and chromatic aberrations, and are defocused due to a change in focal length, thereby increasing the depth of field of view of the individual. 16. The intraocular lens of claim 15, wherein said effective aperture is designed and positioned to enable treatment of posterior lens capsule opacification using an Nd:YAG laser. 17. The intraocular lens of claim 15, wherein said optical zone is designed and positioned to correct spherical aberration. 18. An intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein the shape of the surface of said optical zone of the lens is biconical, it is designed and placed to correct astigmatism. 19. An intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein said effective aperture provides contrast for image resolution in a selected range of distances. 20. An intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein said optical profile is one- or two-dimensional. 21. The intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein said optical profiles are located on one side of the intraocular lens. 22. The intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein said optical profiles are located on both sides of the intraocular lens. 23. An intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein said effective aperture region is formed to scatter light. 24. An intraocular lens according to claim 15, wherein said effective aperture contains transition zones of various shapes. 25. The intraocular lens of claim 15, wherein said optical zone provides at least one optical power.