Antoine Labbé, Alexandre Denoyer,

and Christophe Baudouin

Introduction

Many clinical situations require a precise assessment of corneal structures. However, the resolution of ophthalmic instruments such as the slit-lamp is limited and, for ophthalmologists, it has always been a challenge to evaluate qualitatively and quantitatively the microscopic structures of the cornea. Recently, new imaging techniques have thus been developed to overcome these limitations of light biomicroscopy.

In vivo confocal microscopy (IVCM) is a noninvasive imaging technique that provides high-resolution images of the cornea, the limbus, and the conjunctiva. The usefulness of IVCM to analyze ocular surface structures at a cellular level in normal and pathologic conditions has been largely demonstrated in numerous publications. IVCM actually constitutes an important aid in the diagnosis and the management of infectious keratitis, corneal dystrophies, and for the evaluation of corneal changes after refractive or corneal surgery.

Furthermore, since optical coherence tomography (OCT) was Þrst developed for analysis of the posterior part of the eye, modiÞcations have been made in the technique such that good-resolution images of the anterior segment can be obtained. A large number of AS-OCT applications have been proposed, notably in the Þeld of refractive surgery and corneal graft.

A. LabbŽ, M.D., Ph.D. ¥ C. Baudouin, M.D., Ph.D. (*)

Department of Ophthalmology III, Quinze-Vingts National Ophthalmology Hospital, 28 Rue de Charenton, Paris 75012, France

e-mail: chrbaudouin@aol.com

A. Denoyer, M.D.

Department of Ophthalmology III, Quinze-Vingts National Ophthalmology Hospital, 28 Rue de Charenton, Paris 75012, France