The Vision Council Announces Release of ANSI Z80.28–2022

Alexandria, VA – Nov. 15, 2022 – As the Secretariat Administrator for Accredited Standards Committee Z80, The Vision Council is pleased to announce the revision and publication of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Z80.28-2022: Ophthalmics – Methods For Reporting Optical Aberrations Of Eyes. ANSI Z80.28-2022 was adapted by a group of experts within the ANSI Instruments and Low Vision Devices Subcommittee under the chair, Charles E. Campbell.

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The Vision Council and volunteer members have produced and contributed to multiple standards and communications to assist the industry in serving the eyeglass wearing public. ANSI Z80 ASC for Ophthalmic Optics develops and maintains American National Standards within its scope and develops U.S. positions at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

This American National Standard addresses the communication of aberrations of the eye and is a performance standard. With the dramatic increase in applications associated with aberrations, it is vital to have uniform methods for reporting data so that it is understandable across applications.

Updates to the standard include:

  • The addition of Annex D (Informative), Determination of refraction from Zernike polynomial coefficients. This annex informs the reader on a method to convert measured Zernike polynomial 2nd order coefficients to the sphere power, cylinder power and cylinder axis needed to correct the refractive error of the eye using corrective means available to a clinician, such as spectacle lenses or contact lenses.
    • The annex also gives guidance to manufacturers of refractive systems that use infrared radiation sources to measure the refractive error of eye on the amount of dioptric correction to apply to measured power values to account for change in the index of refraction of the eye due to the change from visible to infrared wavelength.
  • The method given in clause B.1 of Annex B for converting Zernike polynomial coefficient sets to account for differing aperture sizes has been simplified.
  • Wavefront variance is defined in new clause 5.4.

To learn more about The Vision Council’s role in standards, click here. Please direct all questions to Michael Vitale, Vice President. Membership & Technical Affairs at mvitale@thevisioncouncil.org.

More about the Accredited Standards Committee Z80

The Accredited Standards Committee Z80 is a long-established group that develops national standards that apply to Ophthalmic Optics including, prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses, sunglasses, over-the-counter readers, contact lenses, ophthalmic instruments and medical devices including intraocular lenses and laser systems.

The Z80 Committee, established in 1956, is a U.S. national standards developer accredited by ANSI. The current chair is Dr. Carl Tubbs of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The committee, made up of 21 voting organizations and more than 200 participants, meets twice a year. There are seven subcommittees that operate under the Z80 committee.