REAL-TIME CORNEAL PROFILER

A CORNEAL PROFILER IS PLANNED, WITH THE FOLLOWING FEATURES: LONG WORKING DISTANCE-AT LEAST 4 INCHES; FULL CORNEAL DIAMETER-10 MM; AND ACCURACY-1/4 DIOPTER RESOLUTION. THE PROFILER CAN BE USED INDEPENDENT OF CORNEAL STATE, ENABLING THE SURGEON TO WORK WITH CORNEAS WET BY TEARS OR DRY(ER) DURING SURGERY. THIS IS BECAUSE THIS DEVICE WORKS BY SCATTERED LIGHT, NOT BY REFLECTION. IT IS FAST; THIS IS A TELEVISION RATE-IMAGING PROFILER, SO A MEASUREMENT TAKES 1/30 SECOND. IN ADDITION, THE DEVICE WILL BE LOW COST: $5,000 IS THE TARGET PRICE FOR A COMPLETE SYSTEM. THE DEVICE IS INSENSITIVE TO ALIGNMENT ERROR. BECAUSE THE INSTRUMENT DOES NOT DEPEND ON REFLECTED LIGHT, ITS PROFILE MAP IS INDEPENDENT OF VIEWING DIRECTION OR AXIS. ROTATION OF THE MAP TO THE CORNEAL APEX CAN THEN BE DONE IN SOFTWARE. AN INSTRUMENT WITH THESE CAPABILITIES IS CRITICALLY NEEDED FOR MONITORING THE PROGRESS OF CORRECTIVE CORNEAL SURGERY AND RELATED PROCEDURES, AS A RESEARCH TOOL, AND IN MORE PRECISE AND RAPID FITTING OF CONTACT LENSES.