Introduction; Description Of The Unit And General Remarks - OCULUS Pentacam Interpretation Manual

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Introduction

This guide is intended to assist Pentacam®/Pentacam® HR (referred to here as Pentacam®) users in
interpreting the results and screens of the Pentacam®. We may not have covered everything which
might be of interest, and we therefore ask anyone using the Pentacam® for their help in improving
this guide step by step. Please forward us any cases or observations of particular interest, and we
will be happy to incorporate them in this guide.
This guide cannot, of course, replace the knowledge and experiences that only come from long
years of medical studies and professional practice, but it will be of help in cases of doubt as well
as to beginners. At the same time, since medical findings may also depend on the practitioner's
personal experience and perceptions, the individual patient's history or the particular combination
of instruments used, it is quite possible for results obtained by other means to differ from those
shown in this guide yet be nonetheless valid.
2 Description of the unit and general
remarks
The OCULUS Pentacam® is a rotating Scheimpflug camera. The rotational measuring procedure
generates Scheimpflug images in three dimensions, with the dot matrix fine-meshed in the centre
due to the rotation. It takes a maximum of 2 seconds to generate a complete image of the anterior
eye segment. Any eye movement is detected by a second camera and corrected for in the process.
The Pentacam® calculates a 3D model of the anterior eye segment from as many as 25.000
(HR: 138.000) distinct elevation points.
The topography and pachymetry of the entire anterior and posterior surface of the cornea from
limbus to limbus are calculated and depicted. The analysis of the anterior eye segment includes a
calculation of the chamber angle, chamber volume and chamber height and a manual measuring
function that can be applied to any location in the anterior chamber of the eye. Images of the
anterior and posterior surface of the cornea, the iris and the anterior and posterior surface of
the lens are generated in a moveable virtual eye. The densitometry of the lens and cornea is
automatically quantified.
The Scheimpflug images taken during the examination are digitalized in the main unit, and all
image data are transferred to the PC.
When the examination is finished, the PC calculates a 3D virtual model of the anterior eye segment,
from which all additional information is derived.
1 Introduction
2 Description of the unit
and general remarks
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