Ophthalmic applications of circular polarizers

Circular polarizing filters have recently been introduced in several ophthalmic applications. These applications include clinical instruments for ophthalmoscopy, slit-lamp specular microscopy, and fundus photography, as well as consumer products such as 3-D movie projection and viewing systems and glare-control screens for computer visual display terminals. The nature of circularly polarized light and mode of operation of the circular polarizing filters in various applications are discussed. In view of the advantages of circular polarizers in vectographic applications, the current linearly polarized vectographic systems used for binocular testing and visual training should be replaced with circular polarizing systems.