Evaluation of an electronic corneal pachometer.

Sixteen patients who had never worn contact lenses underwent measurement of their central corneal thicknesses with the standard corneal pachometer and a new electronic corneal pachometer. Both instruments were able to produce repeatable and accurate results, although the overall measurements obtained were thicker with the electronic pachometer. The advantage of the electronic pachometer over the standard pachometer is that one is able to easily measure areas other than the central cornea with repeatable accuracy. With the addition of a microcomputer and print-out system, large populations can be studied, and changes in corneal thickness can be recorded on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis.