Spatial-light-modulators (SLM) are increasingly used as active elements in adaptive optics (AO) systems to simulate optical corrections, in particular multifocal presbyopic corrections. In this study, we compared vision with lathe-manufactured multi-zone (2-4) multifocal, angularly and radially, segmented surfaces and through the same corrections simulated with a SLM in a custom-developed two-active-element AO visual simulator. We found that perceived visual quality measured through real manufactured surfaces and SLM-simulated phase maps corresponded highly. Optical simulations predicted differences in perceived visual quality across different designs at Far distance, but showed some discrepancies at intermediate and near.
Keywords: (220.1010) Aberrations (global); (220.1080) Active or adaptive optics; (260.0260) Physical optics; (330.0330) Vision, color, and visual optics; (330.4875) Optics of physiological systems; (330.5370) Physiological optics.