Amplitude of accommodation

The amplitude of accommodation is the maximum potential increase in optical power that an eye can achieve in adjusting its focus. It refers to a certain range of object distances for which the retinal image is as sharply focused as possible.

Amplitude of accommodation is measured during routine eye-examination. The closest that a normal eye can focus is typically about 10 cm for a child or young adult. Accommodation then decreases gradually with age, effectively finishing just after age fifty.

The average amplitude of accommodation, in diopters, for a patient of a given age was estimated by Hofstetter in 1950 to be 18.5 − (0.30 * patient age in years) with the minimum amplitude of accommodation as 15 − (0.25 * age in years), and the maximum as 25 − (0.40 * age in years). However, Hofstetter's work was based on data from two early surveys which, although widely cited, used methodology with considerable inherent error. (Donders, Sheard, Duane, Turner for reference)