Design and validation of a mechanically scanning Hartmann–Shack system for peripheral aberration measurement
Peripheral refraction is thought to play an important role in the onset and progression of myopia, highlighting the need for reliable methods to quantify peripheral optical aberrations in the eye. We present a mechanically scanning Hartmann–Shack system and validates it using a model eye. The system coordinates the mirror rotation and translation with synchronous motion of the wavefront sensor to perform peripheral aberration measurements. For a 6-mm entrance pupil, central field refractive errors from −6 to +6 D were measured, and horizontal meridian peripheral aberrations were acquired over a 0- to 30-deg field of view in 2.5-deg steps. The experimental measurements were compared with corresponding Zemax-based simulations. Five repeated measurements showed good agreement with the simulated central field defocus, with a linear fit slope close to 1. In off-axis fields, the experimental and simulated results demonstrated reliable measurement performance, with spherical equivalent differences below 0.10 D and a maximum astigmatic component J0 difference of 0.19 D. These results demonstrate the accuracy and repeatability of the proposed mechanically scanning approach under model eye conditions and support its further development as a platform for future peripheral aberration studies.