Carl Friedrich Richard Foerster (1825–1902) – the inventor of perimeter and photometer

Abstract

Carl Friedrich Richard Foerster (1825-1902) was a German who was born in the Polish city Leszno. He studied medicine at the Medical Faculty of Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland) University, and later in Heidelberg and Berlin. From 1855, he worked in Breslau, where he established in 1857 the first ophthalmology clinic. Later, he became a professor in ophthalmology, the first director of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Breslau, and even the rector of this University. Forster did many pioneering works on visual fields, invented a photometer and the first perimeter, known for many years as the Foerster perimeter. Moreover, he studied night blindness, visual field changes due to different pathologies, and many eye diseases, including glaucoma, cataract, retinal and choroidal diseases.

Simplified automatic method for measuring the visual field using the perimeter ZERK 1

“…In special cases, they constitute an extremely valuable source of data (visual field). These are: glaucoma, diseases of the retina and the optic nerve, central nervous system damage [ 10 , 11 ]. During the test and in all types of perimeters (PTS 920 from OPTOPOL Technology, AP-100-OPTOtech, Carl Zeiss Humphrey System 740 or Heidelberg Edge Perimeter), the patient sits in front of a semi-circular canopy resting the chin and forehead on the chin rest and the forehead rest [ 1 , 12 – 15 ].…”