Topography


Topography or videokeratography is a procedure done to determine the suitability of a patient for laser eye surgery.

The cornea, or front of the eye, varies greatly from one person to another. It is a curved surface responsible for the majority of focusing power of our eyes. By changing it, a wide range of visual defects can be corrected, restoring sight to those who would previously worn spectacles. Topography allows the mapping of the cornea prior to surgery, so that opthalmologists (eye surgeons) can determine how much of the cornea they need to remove

The corneal topography machine is a large bowl that is made of rings of electronic wires, linked to a computer. In essence it is like making a map of a hill, different points on the cornea are taken, allowing a 3-D colour map to be made. Colours such as blue represent areas that are shallow, whereas red and orange show areas that are very steep. The procedure is fast, painless and requires nothing to be directly touching the patient.

Apart from laser surgery suitability, this procedure can be used to diagnose a number of vision defects, such as astigmatism. It ca also be used to help produce and fit contact lenses for individuals with different corneal profiles.


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