[Techniques for facilitating in vivo corneal topography diagnosis].

Purpose: The videokeratoscope is one of the most widely used instruments for the diagnosis of the human cornea. Results are usually plotted in the form of color-coded maps where each color is associated with a specific range of curvatures or elevations. Nevertheless there has been no thorough study in the literature demonstrating the advantages or disadvantages of different visualization techniques applied to the videokeratoscope.

Methods: A videokeratograph developed in our laboratory was used to collect in vivo data. The cornea of a patient with keratoconus was used as input data for all implemented visualization methods.

Results: The various methods of visualization were compared between each other for the same cornea and it was observed that for each method the corneal anomalies appear differently.

Discussion: The aspects related to the scientific visualization of the cornea have been a subject of very little attention both by the Brazilian and international community. Nevertheless, with the results presented in this first study, we believe it is not only important to extend the scope of these studies but also to apply these techniques to other medical areas.

Conclusion: A simple choice of the visualization method can make the difference between a simple and correct diagnosis and a completely dramatic error in an apparently simple case. Therefore, the results obtained in this study make clear the importance of making the correct choice of the scientific visualization method for this kind of medical instrument.