Abstract: The ocular lens is an import variable refractive element in the eye; its transparency is vital for vision. Conventional ophthalmic imaging devices, such as MRI, ultrasound, and optical instruments are unable to image the ocular lens at submicron resolution. Confocal light microscopy can image the in situ ocular lens and produce high contrast images of the semi-transparent structures. The transverse resolution is less than one micron and the range resolution (important for optical sectioning) is submicron. The studies were performed on freshly enucleated rabbit eyes using a real-time confocal microscope developed by Xiao and Kino at Stanford University. This microscope is based on a rotating Nipkow disk. Other confocal studies were performed on a laser scanning optical microscope. The following structures were imaged: lens capsule, lens epithelium, lens fibrils, nuclei and intrafibril structures. The two-dimensional data sets obtained from the optical sectioning properties of the confocal microscope were used to reconstruct the three-dimensional voxel data sets of the lens. Volume rendering techniques were used for the reconstruction. The three-dimensional views of the in-situ ocular lens are used for visualization of the ocular lens. Clinical potential of the three-dimensional visualization of the ocular lens will be reviewed.!
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