Pentacam®
The Gold Standard in anterior eye segment tomography
Since its introduction in 2002, the OCULUS Pentacam® has proven itself indispensable and has come to represent the "Gold Standard" worldwide. Here’s why: Contact-free Pentacam® measurement provides the basis for precise and reliable diagnostics and successful treatment of the anterior segment.
The measurement principle
The Pentacam® is a combined device consisting of a slit illumination system and a Scheimpflug camera, which rotate together around the eye. A thin layer within the eye is illuminated through the slit. Because they are not entirely transparent, the cells scatter the slit’s light. In doing so they create a sectional image which is then photographed in a side view by a camera. This camera is oriented according to the Scheimpflug principle, thus creating an image of the illuminated plane which appears absolutely sharp from the anterior surface of the cornea right up to the posterior surface of the crystalline lens (if the pupil is dilated wide enough). Rotating around the eye, the slit-camera device generates a series of radially oriented images of the anterior eye chamber. In the subsequent analysis of the sectional images, tissue boundaries are detected and point clouds are assigned to the various tissue layers (anterior and posterior corneal surfaces, iris, crystalline lens).
All sectional images are saved, corrected in relation to a common reference point and then put together to create a three-dimensional model of the entire anterior eye chamber. This makes it possible to generate reproducible tomographic images of the anterior eye chamber in any desired plane.
The Pentacam® is one of the instruments on the market able to perform a precise and complete measurement and analysis of the centre of the cornea. The rotating measurement principle assures a large coverage of the corneal surface and a minimization of the nose shadow. Due to the radial orientation of the sectional images the density of data points is greatest at the center. This contact-free, hygienic measurement process takes less than two seconds. This is the time it takes to generate 50 sectional images yielding in turn 138,000 distinct elevation values (Pentacam® HR).
Patient management system
A highly efficient, well-organized practice allows more time for your patients.
OCULUS patient data administration is a standard feature of the Pentacam®. Perhaps you’d like to work with your own practice software? No problem.
The Pentacam® can be integrated into your medical practice software system quickly and easily. By networking your equipment you can easily back up and synchronize all examination data, optimize work processes in your physician’s practice or clinic, and thus save time and cut costs.
DICOM interface
OCULUS has now implemented a DICOM interface for the Pentacam®. DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) is a standard defining file formats for storage of medical data. It also provides a communications protocol for the exchange of this data. In this way it ensures the safe and easy transfer of Pentacam® image files. Moreover, with an additional software module for the OCULUS patient data management system the Pentacam® can be fully integrated into the DICOM environment. The patient data management system receives the information about the patient and the examination needed using the DICOM Modality Work List and forwards this information to the Pentacam®. The examination data from the measurements is transmitted to the Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) as image files. All DICOM Viewing Stations with access to the PACS can retrieve the stored data for any patient. Network solutions save you time and improve the efficiency of your daily work – we will be pleased to assist you!
Software licences
In order to read and process data recorded by the Pentacam® at workstations not equipped with a Pentacam® you need additional software licences.
Pentacam® software links
OKULIX-Software
OKULIX is an IOL power calculation software developed by Dr. Paul-Rolf Preussner which can be linked to the OCULUS Pentacam®. It automatically imports the anterior and posterior corneal curvature data over 360 meridians from the Pentacam® software. The software contains a huge and expandable database with IOLs from all major manufacturers.
Phaco Optics
The Phaco Optics software developed by Prof. Thomas Olsen for the calculation of IOLs can be linked to the OCULUS Pentacam®. It automatically imports the anterior and posterior corneal curvature data over 360 meridians from the Pentacam® software. The software contains a huge and expandable database with IOLs from all major manufacturers.
PhacoOptics® is a new powerful IOL power calculation and data management system for the ophthalmic lens surgeon. It supports 'high definition' corneal analysis to give in-depth analysis of post-LASIK cases. Pentacam® measurements of the anterior as well as the posterior curvature of the cornea can be used directly by the program without any ‘equivalent’ K-reading. PhacoOptics® supports exact ray tracing as well as 'thick-lens' calculation to give you the highest control of the refractive outcome of IOL implantation."
i-ASSORT
i-ASSORT performs both numerical and graphical astigmatic analyses of the corneal treatment using the Alpins Method. These are derived directly from the topography parameters measured by the Pentacam® unit. Other features include the calculation of corneo-refractive differences- ocular residual astigmatism (ORA) and the corneal irregularity quantified by topographic disparity (TD).
BESSt II IOL Power Calculator
BESSt II IOL Power Calculator was developed by Dr. Edmondo Borasio at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. It allows IOL power calculation in patients who have underwent laser refractive surgery in the past. The specific advantage is that it does not require any pre-refractive surgery data. The latest Direct Import version allows the data to be automatically transferred from the Pentacam to BESSt II IOL Power Calculator. BESSt 2.0 formula is also available for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad.
Holladay IOL Consultant & Surgical Outcomes Assessment
The Holladay IOL Consultant & Surgical Outcomes Assessment is a "smart" database program that automatically minimizes a surgeon's prediction error for intraocular lens power calculations every time postoperative results are entered. The program can handle an unlimited number of IOL's, surgeons and patients. For more information please follow the link below.