Abstract
Introduction: Accurate assessment of the corneal shape is important in cataract and refractive surgery, both in screening of candidates as well as for analyzing postoperative outcomes. Although corneal topography and tomography are widely used, it is common that these technologies are confused. The aim of this study was to present the current developments of these technologies and particularly distinguish between corneal topography and tomography. Methods: The PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases were the main resources used to investigate the medical literature. The following keywords were used in various combinations: cornea, corneal, topography, tomography, Scheimpflug, Pentacam, optical coherence tomography. Results: Topography is the study of the shape of the corneal surface, while tomography allows a three-dimensional section of the cornea to be presented. Corneal topographers can be divided into large- and small-cone Placido-based devices, as well as devices with color-LEDs. For corneal tomography, scanning slit or Scheimpflug imaging and optical coherence tomography may be employed. In several devices, corneal topography and tomography have been successfully combined with tear-film analysis, aberrometry, optical biometry and anterior/posterior segment optical coherence tomography. Conclusion: There is a wide variety of imaging techniques to obtain corneal power maps. As different technologies are used, it is imperative that doctors involved in corneal surgery understand the science and clinical application of devices for corneal evaluation in depth.
Highlights
Accurate assessment of the corneal shape is important in cataract and refractive surgery, both in screening of candidates as well as for analyzing postoperative outcomes
A search of a combined phrase “topography” and “Pentacam”, which is obviously incorrect as Pentacam is a corneal tomographer, gave 687 results
Topography is the study of the shape of the corneal surface [9]
Summary
Accurate assessment of the corneal shape is important in cataract and refractive surgery, both in screening of candidates as well as for analyzing postoperative outcomes. Accurate assessment of the corneal shape is important in cataract and refractive surgery, both in screening of candidates for surgery as well as for analyzing postoperative outcomes [1,2,3]. It is critical for the diagnosis of corneal disorders, which include keratoconus, pellucid marginal degeneration, corneal scars, limbal dermoid or pterygium. Advances in digital photography and computer processing have immensely increased the utility of corneal imaging techniques
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