[Image diagnostic of the retina with fundus cameras]

Imaging of the retina of the human eye is an essential aid for medical diagnosis. The technical realization of photos of the ocular fundus is not trivial because of the optical properties of the eye. Established devices to obtain images are so called fundus cameras with digital documentation capabilities. New procedures do not need the use of pupils enlarging measures at the patient and work with infrared illumination. The quality of the diagnostic findings depends on the one hand fundamentally on the lay-out of the optical design of the fundus camera. On the other hand there are limitations caused by the eye itself which is always a part of the beam path. Both impacts define the attainable results. Special applications deal with the stereoscopic imaging of the retina or with spectral reflection characteristics.