Corneal Topography

What is Corneal Topography?

Think of your cornea as the clear front surface of your eye, like a transparent window. Corneal topography is a way of mapping out the shape and curve of this window in detail. It's a bit like making a 3D map of the surface of your eye.

Imagine if you were to take a picture of your eye from the top, you would see its shape. But with corneal topography, it's like taking many pictures from different angles to understand how your cornea is curved and shaped all around.

Why is Corneal Topography Important?

This information is important because it helps optometrists diagnose and treat various eye conditions like astigmatism, keratoconus, or irregularities in the cornea's shape. It's a valuable tool to understand the overall health and structure of your eyes, helping our optometrists tailor the best possible treatment or correction for you.

How Does it Work?

You will be asked to sit in front of the Corneal topographer device, and it will project different patterns of light onto your cornea. Then, it uses sensors to capture how the light reflects off your cornea. Based on these reflections, the corneal topographer creates a detailed map of the shape and curvature of your cornea.

Corneal Topography and Myopia Control

Corneal topography can play a role in myopia control. Myopia, or nearsightedness, occurs when the eye grows too long or the cornea is too curved, causing light to focus in front of the retina instead of directly on it. While corneal topography helps to map the shape of the cornea, it can provide valuable information for determining the best approach to managing myopia.

In myopia control, the goal is to slow down the progression of myopia, especially in children and young adults whose myopia tends to worsen over time. Corneal topography helps eye care professionals understand the shape of the cornea and how it may contribute to myopia development or progression.

Some strategies for myopia control may involve contact lenses, such as orthokeratology (ortho-k) lenses, which temporarily reshape the cornea while sleeping to correct vision during the day. Corneal topography is essential in fitting ortho-k lenses properly because it provides detailed information about the corneal shape, which affects lens fitting and effectiveness.

Additionally, corneal topography may assist in monitoring changes in corneal shape over time, which could be related to myopia progression. By tracking these changes, eye care professionals can adjust treatment plans and interventions as needed to help manage myopia effectively.

Overall, while corneal topography itself is not a treatment for myopia control, it is a valuable tool in understanding the corneal shape and its role in myopia development and progression. It helps inform treatment decisions and monitor changes in the cornea over time, contributing to comprehensive myopia management strategies.