Goldmann Tonometry Correction Factors Based on Numerical Analysis

Abstract

With the world’s aging population, it is expected that the number of people affected by glaucoma, the second most common cause of irreversible blindness, will increase considerably. Current knowledge on glaucoma progression relates elevation of the intraocular pressure (IOP) to optic nerve damage and hence visual impairment. For this reason, IOP measurement in tonometry has become an essential part of routine eye examinations needed for the diagnosis and management of the disease. The accuracy of the current reference standard in tonometry, the Goldmann applanation tonometer, is known to be affected by the natural variations in corneal thickness, curvature, and material properties. Earlier studies attempted to quantify these effects and produced correction factors that considered the variations in each one of these parameters separately, and no guidance was given as to how to combine the effects of variations in more than one parameter. The present research attempted to address this gap by conducting a multidimensional numerical study that considered variations in thickness, curvature, material properties, and IOP, and used the results to develop a single correction equation that considered these parameters simultaneously. The results of the analysis and the correction equation were validated successfully against the outcome of earlier clinical and mathematical studies on the effect of individual parameters, and the correction equation was presented in a simple form suitable for clinical application.