Most patients recognize a glasses or contact lens prescription as a series of numbers that end up on a box or in a set of frames that they can see through. What they don’t realize is the challenge in obtaining these numbers because of the complexity of the human visual system; which requires not only each eye to be as clear as possible, but also the balance of these numbers that allow for both eyes to work together for binocular vision. Many patients are not aware of the true “Art of the Refraction” which is a process that requires a series of choices presented to the patient in a particular way in order to determine the value of these number sets.
The Art of Refraction is also the process of developing the format of lenses used to present the power of the prescription for the intended visual task e.g. single vision lens verses a bifocal lens. It also applies to the decision of what material is used to make the lenses. This relates to vision performance and cosmetics for glasses, and the comfort and wearing schedule for contact lenses.
Most importantly, the Art of Refraction is the understanding of how the prescription strength, the patient’s personality, and their visual task must all work in unison for the best possible visual performance to be achieved. The “one size fits all” approach will often leave a patient with something far less than optimal, and many times they won’t even realize it until it’s too late. Experience and knowledge have allowed me to develop this Art of Refraction to a level that my patients truly appreciate while they look through their lenses, for the positives that they do experience, and for the negatives that they don’t.