Scheimpflug attachment for ophthalmological slitlamps

Scheimpflug imaging is a technique suited for the quantification of minor opacities of the human eye lens. In the past, several Scheimpflug systems have been developed but being fairly complex and expensive, they have not been widely used. At present, only one instrument is on the market. For these reasons, a new Scheimpflug attachment-to be operated in connection with a slitlamp-was developed. The system is of compact, light-weight and modular design and consists of commercially available components. The Scheimpflug image, recorded by a CCD camera, is digitized in real time by a PC. It is displayed on a video monitor for on-line alignment. The data obtained are permanently stored on optical disk and are available for further analysis. The design of a prototype instrument is described. The practical applicability of the instrument and the high quality of the images is demonstrated.