Cassini ultraprecise Color LED Topography (CLT) to replace Placido ring topographers

i-Optics, the specialist eye diagnostics company that is pioneering highly innovative retina and cornea imaging systems, is to show its Color LED Topography solution, the Cassini, at the ESCRS, DOG, AAOPT and AAO industry shows. The first show is the ESCRS in Vienna, starting this Saturday.

Color LED Topography (CLT) as a technology was developed in close cooperation with the VU University Medical Center. Cassini is the topographer that is based on CLT. Altogether it is good news for patients with eyesight problems. Cassini can diagnose deviations and irregularities in the shape of the cornea very accurately^[1]. This will provide support for the latest vision improvement techniques and equally benefit patients suffering from dry eyes or irregular corneas resulting from corneal surgery. Cassini will also benefit premium lens fitting, early detection of keratoconus and high precision for refractive and cataract surgery.

Although a growing group of patients requires premium contact lenses – multifocal, toric, aspheric, and ortho-k – more often than not they end up with a standard set. In most cases, this is because fitting premium lenses tends to be a lengthy, sometimes tedious trial and error process. The CLT technology used in the Cassini overcomes this by contributing to a better and faster match between cornea and lens, so ensuring patients get the contact lenses they really need.

People suffering from keratoconus will also benefit from the Cassini’s CLT technology. Keratoconus is one of the most common corneal diseases affecting young people and sufferers cannot wear lenses or undergo LASIK eye-correction surgery. Detecting keratoconus early and easily is crucial to both providing the correct medication or treatment and preventing the potentially harmful effects of inappropriate vision enhancement techniques. The VU University Medical Center started a clinical trial with Cassini. The main objective is to validate the accuracy and precision of the Cassini in measuring keratoconus and post-keratoplasty eyes as well as normal corneas. The VU also aims to investigate the potential of Cassini for the early detection and progression of keratoconus. The outcome appears to be promising: “The Cassini provides a better understanding of the refractive properties of corneas, particularly irregular ones,” says Dr. Michel Zaal, principal investigator at the VU.

A third group of patients, such as LASIK or even intraocular surgery candidates, could also benefit in the future from the precision of Cassini.

Finally, the CLT technology used in the Cassini will also benefit patients who suffer from dry eyes and those with irregular corneas resulting from corneal surgery. The traditional problem with dry eyes and ring topographers is that dry eyes blur the pattern on the topographer. This makes it difficult to process the ring reflections and measure the shape of the cornea properly. CLT, however, can still detect the location of the spots, which enables accurate corneal surface reconstruction. This is currently under investigation.

CLT versus ring topography

The secret behind the Cassini is the use of 672 color-coded LEDs set in a unique pattern^[2]. This number has been chosen because it fulfills the accuracy requirements for fitting premium contact lenses. Likewise, the use of colored LEDs instead of just white offers additional advantages. Thanks to its smarter measurement system, Cassini CLT achieves submicron accuracy^[3]  and very high precision of corneal height and can measure the periphery of the cornea.

In fact, CLT technology offers so many possibilities for clinical enhancement that i-Optics is inviting medical professionals around the world to say what they would like to see in an advanced topographer. This crowd-sourcing call is another milestone in what. from the outset, has been an ambitious collaborative R&D program between the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam and i-Optics. i-Optics will introduce the Cassini in early 2012.

For the complete presskit, and more information, please contact a.krootjes@i-optics.com.