Corneal Tomography

Corneal Tomography

At Innovative Eye Care's Adelaide branch, the Pentacam AXL Wave, brings a new dimension to our diagnostic capabilities. But what exactly is tomography, and why is it important for your eye health?

The Power of Tomography

Tomography, in essence, involves creating cross-sectional maps of body tissues using non-invasive techniques. When it comes to your eyes, tomography plays an important role in obtaining a comprehensive view of the cornea, encompassing both its front and back surfaces.

Scheimpflug Imaging

The Pentacam AXL Wave uses the power of Scheimpflug imaging, a technique that sets it apart from conventional reflection-based topographers. While traditional topographers primarily focus on mapping the front surface of the cornea, the Pentacam AXL Wave not only provides detailed insights into the front and back surfaces of the cornea but also offers valuable information about its thickness and volume. Moreover, it delves into the anterior chamber's conformation and volume and even explores the anterior lens topography and density.

One of the most noteworthy advantages of the Pentacam AXL Wave is its unparalleled accuracy. Unlike some other technologies that may be influenced by tear film quality, this non-contact alternative has demonstrated its precision through numerous clinical trials. For this reason, it’s much better for mapping eyes with dry eye disease.

It also serves as a topographer (maps the eye’s front surface), an imager (captures the anterior eye’s structure), autorefractor (approximates refractive error extremely accurately), wavefront aberrometer (quantifies the eye’s lower-order and higher-order aberrations affecting vision) and ocular biometer (measures the physical parameters of the eye).

Due to its extensive abilities, the Pentacam AXL Wave has applications for all patients.

We find it particularly useful when for:  

• Diagnosing and managing corneal thinning disease (ectasia) like keratoconus and PMD
• Bespoke contact lens design
• Management of myopia, or short-sightedness
• Diagnosis and management of cataract.

As well as scanning the cornea (the clear structure at the front of the eye that bends light), the Pentacam AXL Wave is able to directly measure the elevation the sclera (the white part of the eye important), making it crucial in the design of scleral lenses. It also has many other functions relating to pinpoint accuracy of glasses and contact lens prescription, myopia control and cataract.