OPHTHALMOLOGICAL LABORATORY

The eye as basic human sense organ has really often next to the usual age-related changes (change of the size of the lense, increasing haze) further diseases and disorders. Under those are diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, age-related macula degeneration (AMD) as well as arterial and venous occlusion diseases, whose early detection leads to a better life of the patient. In the ophthalmology procedures for the description of the anatomy as well as function diagnostic methods come along with the diagnosis of these diseases.

With the equipment of this ophthalmologic laboratory a widespread eye examination according to the actual state of the technology is possible. The definition of the main eye parameters, which describe a defect of vision (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism), and the intraocular pressure. Furthermore the size of the area which can be seen with an eye without moving it can be examined (field of view examination). Moreover the retina, which is in the inner eye, can be recorded, pictured and analysed. Therewith the strength of the retina and the vessels on the choroid membrane are most important.

In the ophthalmologic laboratory physicians, engineers and physicians work together. The scientific studies here provide for a better examination of important eye diseases and the connection of various diagnosis technologies in the context of e.g. multimodal integration of ophthalmologic diagnosis technologies - "MIntEye".

A further focus of the use of the ophthalmologic laboratory concerns the education. For that purpose the use of the equipment technology for practical education of the students is done in seminars and internships. The research-oriented education includes the student’s integration in actual research projects at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics. Therefore the instrumentation of the laboratory is used in the context of tasks of student assistants, advanced seminars, design projects in the elective module Ophthalmologic Engineering of the master’s degree programme and master’s theses.