The long-term goal of the project is to develop, refine, and evaluate a low-cost hand-held optical corneal pachymeter for non-contact measurement of corneal thickness, with performance and cost better than standard ultrasound pachymetry. The proposed technology is currently in an incomplete prototype form. Grant funding will allow completion and optimization of the preliminary design, which will eventually translate to improved safety, convenience, reliability, performance, and cost savings in comparison to the current technological standard, ultrasound pachymetry.
Specific Aims of the Research: 1 - Prototype construction, refinement, optimization, and improvement 2 - Laboratory assessment & performance characterization 3 - Evaluation of actual manufactured device cost 4 - Assessment & performance comparison on a live animal model Design and Methods: Three-dimensional confocal imaging has been used to measure objects with high precision. Our design uses simplified confocal imaging to measure the thickness of the cornea. A design will be refined, fabricated, evaluated, and produced. Significance: This work will create a new corneal pachymeter that is more well-suited for widespread clinical use than current technologies. This is essential, due to new clinical research findings which highlight the need for corneal pachymetry in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The proposed technology can potentially overcome many of the clinical shortcomings of the current technology.
