Design and performance of a new fluorometer for corneal autofluorescence measurement

摘要

An optical instrument for in-vivo corneal autofluorescence measurements in the human eye is described. This instrument measures corneal autofluorescence without burden to the patient. The corneal tissues are excited tangentially by wavelengths in the spectral region of 450 to 500 nm and the fluorescence emitted by the corneal tissue passing through a suitable set of barrier filters is collected by a miniature photomultiplier. Autofluorescence data are recorded in sixteen measurement cycles during a period of 10 seconds and the average value has been considered. The instrument demonstrates good safety characteristics.