Measurement by laser Doppler interferometry of intraocular distances in humans and chicks with a precision of better than ±20 µm.

A laser Doppler interferometer was built for the precise measurement of intraocular optical distances in humans and chicks. A technique using Purkinje images was developed to position the chick's eye reproducibly. A computer algorithm for the objective analysis of the interference signal and determination of the optical distances is presented. The precision of this noncontact interferometric method for measuring the cornea-retina distance is better than ±20 µm.