New caliper for small incision cataract surgery.

In cataract surgery, incision size determines various factors such as wound stability, corneal curvature changes, postoperative induced astigmatism, and visual rehabilitation. A mechanical caliper has been developed for experimental and clinical studies of incision sizes ranging between 1.0 and 6.0 mm. The caliper has a screw that allows measurements in 0.1 mm steps. The device is produced for two ranges: 2.0 to 4.0 mm and 1.0 to 6.0 mm. The precision of 0.1 mm was confirmed with a vernier caliper in a cadaver eye study. Unlike gauges that determine incision size by trial and error and a combined system of internal and vernier calipers, only one measurement is necessary with this caliper.