A simple geometrical method of measuring anterior chamber dimensions.

Equations are described to derive the true anterior chamber dimensions of an eye from a photograph of its optical section. If the surface of the eye is assumed to be spherical, the three-dimensional coordinates of rays emanating from the anterior chamber to a camera can be transformed to two-dimensional coordinates on a plane, which contains rays both inside and outside of the "eye." The actual dimensions of the anterior chamber then were computed on the basis of the ray tracing over the entire corneal surface. The accuracy of the equations was checked using scales prepared from photographs of curvilinear grids inside an artificial anterior chamber. The advantages of this method are that the true anterior chamber dimensions can be measured in an eye of any corneal curvature and with any type of slit-lamp camera. It appears sufficiently accurate and convenient to be used for clinical and animal studies.