In vivo confocal microscopy, an inner vision of the cornea – a major review

Abstract

The demands of modern ophthalmology have evolved from descriptive findings from the slit lamp to in vivo assessment of cellular level changes. Nowadays, the latter can be provided by in vivo confocal microscopy. This article gives an overview of confocal principles using tandem scanning, scanning slit and laser scanning techniques used in ophthalmology. The main part of the paper describes the clinical applications emphasizing the anatomy of the normal and pathological cornea, and illustrates side-effects of topical medication, contact lens wear, cross-linking and refractive surgery. Finally, a summary about experimental applications, including animal studies, surface characterization and volume rendering as well as future developments, is given.

In Vivo Confocal Microscopic Analysis of Normal Human Anterior Limbal Stroma

“…[14][15][16] It has also produced live images of the corneal and limbal epithelial architecture in LSCD (Table 2). Confocal microscopy can also document the progressive changes in POV in patients with different grades of aniridia-related keratopathy.…”

Characteristics of the cornea in patients with pseudoexfoliation syndrome

“…In vivo confocal microscopy offers direct, non-invasive visual access to the cornea at the cellular level and also permits evaluation of the sub-basal nerve plexus (6) . A few studies in the literature have used in vivo corneal confocal microscopy to study the corneas of patients with PEX.…”

An efficient intelligent analysis system for confocal corneal endothelium images

“…No vessels or nerves are present in this level. Sometimes, the nuclei of the cells may possibly be visualised [4][5][6][7]. Examples of corneal images for stroma and endothelium layers are presented in Fig.…”