A digital eye data bank contains digital eye information concerning a plurality of different eyes in the form of schematic eve models. Each model contains a quantitative and qualitative description of the optical performance of a human eye that can be used to simulate the eye's optical performance. Each schematic eye model is associated with at least one of an age, race, gender, geographic residence, or medical diagnosis of a group of individuals. The digital eye data bank also contains personal information such as body height, weight, education background, and physical, chemical, and mental status that may correspond to an eye condition associated with the eye model. The digital eye data bank is used to evaluate the performance of ocular instruments through computer simulation and predict a measurement outcome among a population of subjects.