This photo was taken at the slit-lamp microscope and shows the view you have when checking eye pressure with the Goldman applanation tonometer.
Goldman applanation tonometry is based upon the Imbert-Fick principle: such that the IOP measurement can be determined by the amount of force needed to flatten a fixed area of cornea. In this case, we are pushing on the eye with the blue-light applanator, and trying to flatten a round cornea surface with a diameter of 3.06 mm (that’s the area that our variable-force scale is callibrated for).
To ensure we have the correct sized area depressed, the plastic contact point has a prism in it designed such that you know you have the correct size area when the two hemispheres touch (like in this picture).
This snapshot was taken from our hyphema paracentesis video, at the end of which I check the pressure … so watch the video if you want to see what this applanation step looks like under the microscope. (Be patient, as the actual pressure check is not until the end of the movie).
Comments and Feedback
1 Comment
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thanks, thank you, gracias. i can’t say it enough we now have a video resource to go to instead of odd description to blank faces for all our new staff.
tom
Comment by thomas bartolomeo — October 3, 2007 @ 3:20 pm
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