Adaptive optics systems

This chapter presents an overview of adaptive optics (AO) systems, including a brief summary of their development history and their importance in high-resolution imaging systems. The first section of this chapter introduces the basic optical concepts of wavefronts and aberrations. The operating principle of AO systems and the primary components of these systems are then presented. Covered in the last section is a review of retinal imaging AO systems, including a brief review of the history of ophthalmic imaging systems and the requirements and challenges to their practical implementation using AO systems.