Abstract

In the last decade a number of new technologies have been developed that allow us to alter the shape of the cornea. The ultimate goal of these technique is to be able to reshape the corneal surface reliably and accurately and thus permanently correct most types of refractive errors and provide patients with optimum visual performance without corrective lenses. One of the barriers that has impeded the progress of these techniques has been the lack of a reliable and accurate description of the corneal surface before and after the reshaping of the cornea. Only with this knowledge can we begin correlating the optical properties of the cornea and the change in visual performance resulting from the surgery.

© 1996 Optical Society of America