Crossword Dictionary
toric
toric, torics - n
a lens designed to correct astigmatism
A toric lens is a lens with different optical power and focal length in two orientations perpendicular to each other. One of the lens surfaces is shaped like a "cap" from a torus (see figure at right), and the other one is usually spherical. Such a lens behaves like a combination of a spherical lens and a cylindrical lens. Toric lenses are used primarily in eyeglasses, contact lenses and intraocular lenses to correct astigmatism.
With modern computer-controlled design, grinding and polishing techniques, good vision corrections can be achieved for even wider angles of view by allowing certain deviations from the toric shape. This is called an atoric lens (literally, non-toric lens). They are related to toric lenses in the same way that aspheric lenses are related to spherical lenses.