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We document our latest work in developing a new eye model with a solid-state cornea and liquid filled anterior chamber designed for demonstrating, validating and comparing anterior chamber ophthalmic Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) instruments, corneal topographers, and Scheimpflug cameras. Anterior chamber eye model (ACEM) phantoms can serve a variety of purposes, including demonstrating instrument functionality and performance in both the clinic and exhibit hall, validating corneal layer thickness measurements from different commercial instruments and as an aide for the R and D engineer and field service technician in the development and repair of instruments, respectively. The ideal eye model for OCT, the optical cross-sectional imaging modality, would have a volumetric morphology and scattering and absorption properties similar to that of normal human cornea. These include a multi-layered structure of equivalent thickness to nominal human corneal layers, including an epithelium layer, a stroma with appropriate backscattering properties, and an endothelium. A filled and sealed tissue phantom relieves the user of constant cleaning and maintenance associated with the more common water bath model eyes. Novel processes have been developed to create corneal layers that closely mimic the reflectance and scattering coefficients of the real layers of the cornea, as imaged by spectral bandwidth of OCT.

An accurate solid eye model (with volumetric retinal morphology) has many applications in the field of ophthalmology, including evaluation of ophthalmic instruments and optometry/ophthalmology training. We present a method that uses volumetric OCT retinal data sets to produce an anatomically correct representation of three-dimensional (3D) retinal layers. This information is exported to a laser scan system to re-create it within solid eye retinal morphology of the eye used in OCT testing. The solid optical model eye is constructed from PMMA acrylic, with equivalent optical power to that of the human eye (∼58D). Additionally we tested a water bath eye model from Eyetech Ltd. with a customized retina consisting of five layers of ∼60 μm thick biaxial polypropylene film and hot melt rubber adhesive. © 2010 SPIE.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) is used to create an active flip in/out Rapid Prototype (RP) lens mount for a very specific and limited application. Design and material considerations are reviewed, design and construction challenges highlighted, and both CAD and photographic images of the finished mount are shown. These are the author's anecdotal experiences with one type of RP, and should not be considered representative of industry or even manufacturer's capabilities.