A lensmeter or lensometer (sometimes even known as focimeter or vertometer), is an ophthalmic instrument. It is mainly used by

optometrists Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

and

opticians An optician, or ''dispensing optician'', is a technical practitioner who designs, fits and dispenses lenses for the correction of a person's vision. Opticians determine the specifications of various ophthalmic appliances that will give the nec ...

to measure the back or front vertex power of a spectacle lens and verify the correct prescription in a pair of

eyeglasses Glasses, also known as eyeglasses or spectacles, are vision eyewear, with lenses (clear or tinted) mounted in a frame that holds them in front of a person's eyes, typically utilizing a bridge over the nose and hinged arms (known as temples or ...

, to properly orient and mark uncut lenses, and to confirm the correct mounting of lenses in spectacle frames. Lensmeters can also verify the power of

contact lenses Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmetic ...

, if a special lens support is used. The parameters appraised by a lensmeter are the values specified by an

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgery, surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Followin ...

optometrist Optometry is a specialized health care profession that involves examining the eyes and related structures for defects or abnormalities. Optometrists are health care professionals who typically provide comprehensive primary eye care. In the Uni ...

on the patient's prescription: sphere, cylinder, axis, add, and in some cases, prism. The lensmeter is also used to check the accuracy of

progressive lens Progressive lenses, also called multifocal lenses, progressive addition lenses (PAL), varifocal lenses, progressive power lenses, graduated prescription lenses, or progressive spectacle lenses are corrective lenses used in eyeglasses to correct pr ...

es, and is often capable of marking the lens center and various other measurements critical to proper performance of the lens. It may also be used prior to an

eye examination An eye examination is a series of tests performed to assess vision and ability to focus on and discern objects. It also includes other tests and examinations pertaining to the eyes. Eye examinations are primarily performed by an optometrist, op ...

to obtain the last prescription the patient was given, in order to expedite the subsequent examination.

History

In 1848,

Antoine Claudet Ada Byron's daguerreotype by Claudet, . Antoine François Jean Claudet (August 18, 1797 – December 27, 1867) was a French photographer and artist active in London who produced daguerreotypes. Early Years Claudet was born in La Croix-Rousse ...

produced the photographometer, an instrument designed to measure the intensity of photogenic rays; and in 1849 he brought out the focimeter, for securing a perfect focus in photographic portraiture. In 1876,

Hermann Snellen Herman Snellen (February 19, 1834 – January 18, 1908) was a Dutch ophthalmologist who introduced the Snellen chart to study visual acuity (1862). He took over directorship of the Netherlands Hospital for Eye Patients (Nederlandsch Gasthuis voo ...

introduced a phakometer which was a similar set up to an

optical bench Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultravio ...

which could measure the power and find the

optical centre In Gaussian optics, the cardinal points consist of three pairs of points located on the optical axis of a rotationally symmetric, focal, optical system. These are the '' focal points'', the principal points, and the nodal points. For ''ideal'' ...

of a convex lens. Troppman went a step further in 1912, introducing the first direct measuring instrument. In 1922, a patent was filed for the first projection lensmeter, which has a similar system to the standard lensmeter pictured above, but projects the measuring target onto a screen eliminating the need for correction of the observer's

refractive error Refractive error, also known as refraction error, is a problem with focus (optics), focusing light accurately on the retina due to the shape of the human eye, eye and or cornea. The most common types of refractive error are myopia, near-sightedne ...

in the instrument itself and reducing the requirement to peer down a small telescope into the instrument. Despite these advantages the above design is still predominant in the optical world. accessed 20 Jan 2009

References

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External links

Lensometry basicsThe lensmeter
Ophthalmic equipment Measuring instruments Articles containing video clips

History

See also

References

External links