Cornea Specular Microscopy
Our specular microscopes provide optimal clear images of the corneal endothelium and come with integrated software for cell counting, analysis, and data management. Our digital pachymeters — built-in for the clinical models and optional for the eye bank models — give accurate measurement of cornea thickness.
Since the endothelial cells are one of the most important structures in a donor cornea, their morphology and concentration must be carefully evaluated. This can be done at the slit lamp by a technique called specular reflection or with a specular microscope. Specular reflection refers to the viewing of objects that occurs when light is reflected from the interfaces of materials with different indices of refraction. This occurs in a mirror like fashion where the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. An endothelial cell is different in refractive index than the aqueous and also Descemet's. while most of the light goes through these two transparent layers, about 0.02% is reflected backward to form an image of these structures. The more regular and numerous the cells are, the better their function is thought to be. Tightly packed, hexagonal-shaped cells with little variation in shape and size are considered normal. Cell densities greater than 2000/mm are generally accepted as suitable for transportation.
