Systems and methods for determining crosslinking distribution in the cornea and / or structural characteristics of the cornea

Abstract

To provide a system and method that determine a distribution of a cross-linking agent in a cornea and / or structural characteristics of a cornea, e.g., corneal thickness.SOLUTION: In a cornea measuring system, an optical element focuses excitation light to an area of a corneal tissue in a selected depth. In response thereto, a fluorescent agent applied to a cornea generates fluorescent emission. An opening of a pinhole structure selectively allows transmission of the fluorescent emission from the area of the corneal tissue in the selected depth. A detector captures the selected fluorescent emission which is transmitted by the opening, then transmits information related to a measured value of the selected fluorescent emission captured by the detector. A controller receives information from the detector, then determines a measured value of a fluorescent agent in the area of the corneal tissue in the selected depth. The system may comprise a scan mechanism for causing the optical element to scan the cornea at a plurality of depths, and the controller can determine the measured values of the fluorescent agent on the cornea as a function of depth.SELECTED DRAWING: None

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