Determination of absolute size of fundus objects.

BACKGROUND: Creating multiple beam interference fringes on the retina using the "retina fringe projector" (RFP) provides us with a scale which can be used to determine the absolute size of objects at the fundus. METHODS: The procedure is tested on an model eye, the optical parameters of which are varied in order to simulate different refraction conditions. The RFP was used to determine the size of a known object at the model fundus; the result was then checked against the real value of the object. In a second series of measurements, the RFP fringes were included in fundus photos of 52 patients with varying levels of ametropia, taken at the University Eye Clinic in Jena using the FF450 fundus camera (manufacturer: Carl Zeiss Meditec AG) for diagnostic purposes. The distance between the fringes was determined using both the RFP and the Littmann method. RESULTS: The differences to the real value of the fundus size of a known object deviated on average by 1 to 2%, and always remained under 3% in the model eye. A very good correlation between RFP and Littmann methods results could be found in the clinical part of the study. The resulting deviations are below 2.5%. CONCLUSION: Integration of a RFP in a fundus camera permits measurement of absolute values of the retina, regardless of the type of observation or documentation. Knowing the real size of fundus objects holds a potential in many clinical classification scales of fundus objects such as drusen or vessels, or in optimizing photodynamic therapy spot size measurement.

[Image diagnostic of the retina with fundus cameras]. / Bilddiagnostik der Netzhaut mit der Funduskamera.

Imaging of the retina of the human eye is an essential aid for medical diagnosis. The technical realization of photos of the ocular fundus is not trivial because of the optical properties of the eye. Established devices to obtain images are so called fundus cameras with digital documentation capabilities. New procedures do not need the use of pupils enlarging measures at the patient and work with infrared illumination. The quality of the diagnostic findings depends on the one hand fundamentally on the lay-out of the optical design of the fundus camera. On the other hand there are limitations caused by the eye itself which is always a part of the beam path. Both impacts define the attainable results. Special applications deal with the stereoscopic imaging of the retina or with spectral reflection characteristics.