[Property and clinical availability of the noncontact autofocus specular microscope]

Reproducibility of results and possible clinical use of a newly developed noncontact autofocus specular microscope were studied. Morphological parameters of corneal endothelium were analyzed on images taken with the noncontact autofocus specular microscope and the ordinary contact specular microscope simultaneously in 10 eyes of 10 normal subjects. Intraphotographic and interphotographic study by autoanalysis of 5 images each of 10 eyes taken by the noncontact instrument showed small coefficient variation of mean cell area and cell density (less than 5%, individually). These morphological parameters showed about 7% difference between autoanalysis and manual analysis of the images taken by the noncontact instrument. In comparison with the images taken by the contact instrument, the images taken by the noncontact instrument showed about 7% difference in mean cell area and cell density (p < 0.001, individually). In respect of reproducibility, this newly developed noncontact autofocus specular microscope is clinically useful. The differences of morphological parameters between the new and ordinary instruments might be caused the differences in corneal shapes.