Ocular surface temperature.

A wide-field color-coded infra-red imaging device was applied to the measurement of i) the temperature profile across the ocular surface and ii) the temporal stability of central corneal temperature, on 21 subjects. The thermographs showed a pattern of ellipsoidal isotherms (major axis horizontal) approximately concentric about a temperature apex (coldest point) which was slightly inferior to the geometric center of the cornea (GCC). The GCC had a mean temperature (+/- SD) of 34.3 +/- 0.7 degrees C (range 32.8 to 35.4 degrees C). Temperature increased towards the periphery of the cornea with the limbus being 0.45 degrees C warmer than the GCC (p less than 0.0001). Following a blink, the GCC cooled at a mean (+/- SD) rate of 0.033 +/- 0.024 degrees C/s (p less than 0.0001) over the first 15s. Subjects whose corneas cooled more slowly following a blink demonstrated a greater capacity to avoid blinking for a prolonged period (p less than 0.05). This improved method of measuring ocular surface temperature has important applications in modeling corneal physiology and pathology.