A multifocal lens is an advanced type of optical lens or intraocular lens designed with multiple focal zones of varying refractive power to allow simultaneous sharp vision at several distances - far, near and often intermediate. The optical design of multifocal lenses is based on the division of light entering the eye between different focal zones through the use of concentric rings of alternating power (refractive design), diffraction slits using the phenomenon of light diffraction (diffractive design), or a combination of both technologies (hybrid design). As a result of this division of light, both sharp and blurred images from different distances are simultaneously produced on the retina, and the visual system, through neuroadaptation mechanisms, learns to selectively use the sharp image appropriate to the current fixation distance, ignoring the blurred images.
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