Eye essentials 1: Objective and subjective refraction

To mark the launch of a major new series of textbooks, Optician begins a new regular CET series with a short article by Bill Harvey and Andrew Franklin outlining some key points about refraction.

CET module C1631. This module has now closed.

Objective refraction
Objective refraction includes retinoscopy and the use of autorefractors, which are appearing in optometric practice in increasing numbers. In general, objective methods are not required to give us a final prescription.

They merely need to get us to a point from which subjective methods can take us to the end point accurately and quickly. Increasingly, phoropter heads are used instead of trial frames.