CORNEAL TOPOGRAPHY

3 IMPRTANT FACTORS LIMIT USEFULNESS OF KERATOMETER

1. Assumes cornea is spherocylindrical surface with single radius of curvature in each
meridian that are orthogonal
2. Provides no information on shape of cornea within/outside 4 reference points
3. Small amounts of irregular astigmatism (refractive surgery) distort mires > measurements
impossible
PROBLEMS ASS WITH RECONSTRUCTING ANTERIOR CORNEAL SURFACE FROM 2D KERATOSCOPIC
IMAGES
1. Insufficient information to provide point by pint unique solution for
reconstructing 3D shape
2 surfaces with different radii placed at different distances from film plane can create
same image conjugacy
Radius of point on cornea cant be determined without presumption of local and global
model for shape
2. Projected target = 3 concentric tcircles
Assume light ray arising from one meridian on particular mire falls on same meridian at
film plane
Error in reconstructing corneal surface
3. Accuracy of reconstruction algorithm not the only determinant of spatial
resolution
More mires used > greater resolution > greater surface area of cornea that contributes
reconstruction
Discuss the problems that exist when trying to construct the corneal surface from a
2D keratoscopic image
CORNEAL MODELING SYSTEM
Unique
Integrates corneal curvature and thickness measurements in continuous
maths model
Data
32 ring cylindrical photokeratoscope image
acquisition
Takes 1/30th of second take picture
Rings digitized and topographic data poits extracted
7000 data points generated
Pints used to generate continuous mathematical functions that describe
cornea
Topographic
Represented in variety of ways
data
Clinically: colour coded map most useful
Possible to determine quantitative info of local corneal power at any poit
on cornea
Detail optical principles of photokeratoscope
In its simplest form keratoscope consists of placido disc and camera to record reflection of
rings from the pre-corneal tearfilm
Mire rings are made thicker and more widely separated, the further they are away from
the cornea.
Rear telecentric stop located at the fovea of the instrument objective
Chief image forming rays = those incident rays of zero vergence
Reduces image height errors caused my imperfect focus with incorrect instrument location
along instruments optical axis

Use of telecentric system simplifies calculations of the corneal characteristics, since point
of reflection can be found directly from the image height in photokeratograph.