The Goals of the OPTICAL Project
Overview
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Recovery of corneal topography (shape) from videokeratograph images
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Visualization of corneal topography
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Design and specification of contact lenses
Overview
The goal of the OPTICAL project is to
develop new geometric modeling and scientific visualization techniques
for curved optical surfaces which will
benefit researchers and clinicians in the
fields of optometry, ophthalmology, and vision science.
This interdisciplinary
group involves members of the
Computer Science Division,
School of Optometry
and
Vision Science Group
at Berkeley as well as others
further afield. With this combined expertise, we hope to bring to
bear ideas from computer graphics, modeling and simulation on a
variety of problems involving human vision.
Currently, our three main projects are:
Recovery of corneal topography (shape) from videokeratograph images
The cornea is the clear fibrous tissue forming the front surface of
the eye. Its shape is very important in determining visual acuity.
The shape is also important for fitting contact lenses and performing
corneal surgery. One method for measuring the shape of the cornea is
to use a videokeratograph. This device projects a pattern onto the
cornea and records the reflected image. The image is then analyzed to
recover the shape information.
We have developed a new analysis algorithm that has several advantages
compared to current approaches: it is more accurate, it directly
recovers position of the cornea, and it produces a continuous map over
the entire surface. To develop this algorithm, we have assimilated
ideas from a variety of fields, including ray-tracing (computer
graphics and optics), smooth B-spline surfaces (computer modeling) and
simulation.
Visualization of corneal topography
After measuring the shape of the cornea, it is important to be able to
display the results in a manner that highlights the important features
of the surface and is understandable to viewers with a wide variety of
backgrounds. We have been investigating a number of different
visualization techniques. Some of these are based on 2D images,
whereas others fully exploit the 3D graphics capabilities of current
workstations. Our software visualization
suite demonstrates some of the results.
Design and specification of contact lenses
We have found that procedures for fitting and manufacturing contact
lens use only very simple models of the cornea. With our improved
method for finding corneal topography, we have opened the way to
develop contact lenses that are more precisely designed with an
individual's cornea in mind. The problems we are currently
investigating are how to assist a clinician in the design process and
how to specify a more complex contact lens than is currently used in
practice. With access to a wealth of computer aided geometric design
knowledge, we feel that we are well positioned to develop the contact
lens of the future.
Copyright © 1998 OPTICAL Research Project. All rights reserved.
WWW Maven: Dan Garcia (ddgarcia@cs.berkeley.edu) 
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