Optics is best understood by moving it.
Emmetria is a plug-and-play library of interactive optics sandboxes for ophthalmology — each a standalone simulation of a single problem. Open one, drag the parameters, and watch the physics respond in real time.
Optics is the language beneath almost everything in eye care — and it’s usually taught with static diagrams that ask you to imagine the motion. Emmetria gives you the motion directly. A ray you can drag teaches more in ten seconds than a frozen figure does in ten minutes.
There are no levels, no prerequisites, and no lessons to complete. A medical student fresh out of a lecture, a resident checking a transposition, and an attending brushing up in two minutes all land in the same place: the sandbox.
The math is real and the tools are free. When a result depends on a proprietary formula we can’t reproduce — as with some IOL calculations — the sandbox says so and links you to the official calculator.
Michael Balas
Michael builds Emmetria out of a simple conviction: optics is understood best when you can move it. Trained in ophthalmology and fluent in code, he designs each sandbox to be physically honest, vendor-neutral, and free — the resource he wished he’d had as a trainee.
Bio is a placeholder — edit anytime.
Guided by practising ophthalmologists.
A small board of clinicians keeps the sandboxes faithful to how optics actually shows up in the clinic and the operating room. Members to be announced.
To be announced
Cataract & refractive surgery
To be announced
Cornea & anterior segment
To be announced
Optics & medical education
What we hold to.
Physically correct
The math is real. Every value a sandbox shows is computed from first principles, not approximated for effect.
Simplicity by hiding, not faking
Complexity is tucked away until you want it. We hide parameters — never the physics underneath them.
Vendor-neutral
No brand is favoured. Where a proprietary formula can't be reproduced faithfully, we say so and point to the official tool.
No levels, no paywalls
One flat library, open to everyone. A student and a surgeon land in exactly the same place.
Honest about limits
When a model breaks down or a value can't be computed, the sandbox tells you — rather than guessing.
Start with Thin Lenses.
Drag the object across the focal point and watch the image flip. It’s the fastest two minutes in optics.